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Projects

As a scientific user facility, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) provides expertise, instrumentation, and resources to 250 projects each year. 

EMSL projects displayed on the EMSL web site project page reflect project abstracts and information migrated to this page before April 30, 2024. To review current and past EMSL user projects, visit EMSL Science Central.™ 

 

  • Projects beginning at or after given date.
    Projects ending at or before given date.

Detection and quantification of strigolactones in Populus

Lead Institution
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Jin-Gui Chen
Project type
Exploratory Research
Plant architecture plays a major role in determining photosynthetic light use efficiency and biomass yield. Shoot branching is one of the key determinants of plant architecture. The identification of…

Proteome Response to Arogenate Dehydratase Changes in Arabidopsis and Poplar

Lead Institution
Washington State University
Principal Investigator
Norman Lewis
Project type
Exploratory Research
Arogenate dehydratases (ADTs) are a class of isoenzymes involved in the production of phenylalanine (Phe). In addition to its involvement in protein biosynthesis, Phe is the starting metabolite in…

Surface-mounted bi-metallic sub-nano clusters as catalysts for endothermic cooling

Lead Institution
University of California, Los Angeles
Principal Investigator
Anastassia Alexandrova
Project type
Exploratory Research
The ultimate objective of the proposed research is understanding and design of novel catalytic surfaces based on sub-nano surface-deposited clusters, with a particular application to hydrogenation/de…

In Situ and Ex Situ Studies of Energy Storage Materials

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Karl Mueller
Project type
Exploratory Research
Innovation of energy storage technology depends critically on the fundamental understanding of the operating mechanism and dynamic interaction across different components in the storage unit. With…

Identification and Regulation of Cellulases within Novel Anaerobic Gut Fungi

Lead Institution
University of California, Santa Barbara
Principal Investigator
Michelle O'Malley
Project type
FICUS Research
Biofuels derived from plant biomass (lignocellulose) are attractive alternatives to petroleum-based products, as they avoid many of the economic and environmental problems that plague traditional…

Mapping soil carbon from cradle to grave: using comparative transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolite analysis to identify the microbial blueprint for root-enhanced decomposition of organic matter.

Lead Institution
University of California, Berkeley
Principal Investigator
Mary Firestone
Project type
FICUS Research
In this JGI-EMSL project, we will investigate how living roots impact the functional capacity of the detritosphere (litter and surrounding soil) microbiome that is actively mediating decomposition…

Organelles promoting high level terpenoid biosynthesis in filamentous fungi.

Lead Institution
United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service Cereal Disease Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Harold Kistler
Project type
FICUS Research
Terpenoid compounds are a promising source of renewable biofuels that have many favorable characteristics such as high energy content and compatibility with existing energy-use technologies. While…

Organic N Turnover in Soil: An Overlooked Component of C Cycling

Lead Institution
Oregon State University
Principal Investigator
David Myrold
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
It is now generally accepted that most of the organic matter in soils consists of materials that have been processed by the microbial community. Indeed, "necromass"--the remains of dead…

The proteome of a day in the life of Chlamydomonas

Lead Institution
University of California, Berkeley
Principal Investigator
Sabeeha Merchant
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Nearly all organisms exhibit diurnal metabolic cycles. In photosynthetic organisms, light is a key input into metabolic cycles. Transcriptomics experiments in cyanobacteria, algae and plants have…

Histone dynamics during the life cycle of Chlamydomonas

Lead Institution
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Principal Investigator
James Umen
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Diurnal cycles are central drivers of gene expression in photosynthetic organisms including cyanobacteria, algae and land plants. The model unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has…

Advanced Molecular Characterization of Solvo-Catalytic Lignin Disassembly

Lead Institution
Washington University in St. Louis
Principal Investigator
Marcus Foston
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Lignin obtained from lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant, renewable, low-cost resource whose carbon-rich, aromatic composition makes it ideal to displace some petroleum-based feedstocks as…