Honey bees are invaluable pollinators — cupids of the plant world facilitating the remixing of genes in the next generation of flowering vegetation. In return for their services, bees eat plant nectar and pollen. Nectar is an easily absorbable solution of sugars, but pollen contains plant cell walls, which have complex, branching chains of polysaccharides called pectin and hemicellulose. Honey bees rely on their gut microbiota to produce these enzymes to break down polysaccharides. An international team of researchers including JGI scientists has identified the major metabolic roles of constituent microbes. Read more on the JGI website.
JGI Develops “Hook and Bait” Single-Cell Genomic Approach to Bioprospecting
One of the most vital pieces of equipment for fly fishing is a boxful of lures. Designed with feathers or wires to mimic an insect or a particular movement, each of these lures are the bait designed to attract specific catches. A similar “hook and bait” technique has been developed by researchers led by JGI Microbial Program Head Tanja Woyke. Using a single-cell screen, they can now identify microbes with specific functional characteristics. When they tested the screen method on a microbial community from geothermal hot springs, they uncovered a novel cellulose-degrading bacterium typically found in low abundances. Read more on the JGI website.
Cryo-EM Adapted to Visualize Atomic Structure of Synthetic Soft Material
Berkeley Lab scientists have demonstrated for the first time that cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a Nobel Prize-winning technique originally designed to image proteins in solution, can be adapted to image atomic changes in a synthetic soft material.
Q&A: What Rare Diseases Are and Why That Matters
As much as 10 percent of the population is thought to have a “rare disease.” Due to a lack of understanding, many of these diseases remain very difficult to diagnose and treat. Inspired by the enormous unmet needs of people with rare diseases, an international team of scientists is developing open-access tools and resources for sharing disease characteristics and treatment information.
JGI Team Helps Uncover Sorghum’s Secrets for Drought Tolerance
Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is an African grass that adroitly handles droughts, floods and poor soils. While sorghum is drought-tolerant, the crop’s precise response is dependent on when exactly water becomes a limiting factor – before or after flowering. Reported in PNAS the week of December 2, 2019, is the first paper that describes sorghum’s response to drought, from a large-scale field experiment led by a multi-institutional consortium to uncover the mechanisms behind sorghum’s capacity to produce high yields despite drought conditions. Read the full highlight on the JGI website.
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