Jillian Banfield
Earth Faculty Scientist
Building: 953, Room 0369
Mail Stop: MCCONE
Phone: (510) 642-9488
Fax: (510) 643-9980
JFBanfield@lbl.gov
http://geomicrobiology.berkeley.edu/
http://eps.berkeley.edu/people/jill-f-banfield
Divisions
Earth & Environmental Sciences Area
Secondary Affiliation:
Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology
- Molecular EcoSystems Biology
Research Interests
I am a Professor in the Departments of Earth and Planetary Science and Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, and have a faculty appointment in Materials Science and Engineering. I also have appointments in the geochemistry group of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and in the Environmental Genomics & Systems Biology Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. My research interests are in geomicrobiology, which is the study of how microorganisms shape, and are shaped by, their natural environments. My research group studies microbial communities, primarily using cultivation-independent approaches such as genome-resolved metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics and metabolomics. We work on microbial dissolution and precipitation of minerals, the structure, properties and reactivity of clay minerals and nanoparticles (many of which are formed by microorganisms), microbial ecology, and microbial evolution. Many of our projects are tied to field sites. Current study locations include the Angelo Coastal Reserve and a groundwater site in the central valley (northern California), the Rifle site and East River watershed (Colorado) and Crystal Geyser (Utah). We also conduct laboratory experiments in microcosms designed to probe ecosystem processes and bioremediation treatments.
Recent Publications
Related News
How to Edit the Genes of Nature’s Master Manipulators
A team led by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna and her longtime collaborator Jill Banfield has developed a clever tool to edit the genomes of bacteria-infecting viruses called bacteriophages using a rare form of CRISPR. The ability to easily engineer custom-designed phages—which has long eluded the research community—could help researchers control microbiomes without antibiotics or harsh chemicals, and treat dangerous drug-resistant infections. A paper describing the work was recently published in Nature Microbiology.
Methane-Eating ‘Borgs’ Have Been Assimilating Earth’s Microbes
A team led by UC Berkeley’s Jill Banfield discovered DNA structures within a methane-consuming microbe that appear to supercharge the organism’s metabolic rate. In a nod to the Star Trek universe, they named the genetic elements “Borgs” because the DNA within contains genes assimilated from many organisms.
All-star Scientific Team Seeks to Edit Entire Microbiomes with CRISPR
CRISPR enzymes are like super scissors: they cut, delete, and add genes to a specific kind of cell, one at a time. But now, UC Berkeley faculty and Biosciences Area researchers have figured out how to add or modify genes within a microbial community of many different species, coining the phrase, community editing.
