By studying the genes of land plants’ closest algal relative, Zygnematophyceae, scientists have enhanced our understanding of how early plants transitioned from water to land. Through the Community Science Program of the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), scientists sequenced the genomes of four Zygnematophyceae algae, which were isolated from diverse freshwater environments. These led to highly detailed assemblies for three strains of Zygnema circumcarinatum. Published May 2024 in Nature Genetics by an international research consortium led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Goettingen, this research provides critical insights into the common ancestry of these algae and land plants. Learn more on the JGI’s website.
Getting to the Bottom of Fungal Functions Across Earth’s Forests
Researchers have pioneered new understanding of which fungi take on certain functions at the forest floor. For the first time, they compared three different fungal guilds in a range of different locations. They sampled soils in four forest ecosystems, extracted RNA to understand gene expression, and developed new tools to map that soil RNA to fungal genomes.
A Biofuel Breakthrough, Courtesy of Fungi
It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. In this case, the “job” is the breakdown of lignin, the structural molecule that gives plants strength and rigidity. One of the most abundant terrestrial polymers (large molecules made of repeating subunits called monomers) on Earth, lignin surrounds valuable plant fibers and other molecules that could be converted into biofuels and other commodity chemicals – if we could only get past that rigid plant cell wall.
JGI Researchers Trace the Evolution of Shiitake Mushrooms
These fungi are part of the genus Lentinula, which have evolved to decompose hardwoods on every continent besides Europe and Antarctica. Lentinula mushrooms are white rot fungi, belonging to an elite group of decomposers that can break down all of wood’s components — cellulose, hemicellulose, and the toughest molecule, lignin. Understanding Lentinula genomes and their evolution could provide strategies for converting plant waste into sugars for biofuel production.
JGI Looks to Soil to Understand Forest Recovery After Wildfires
Within a forest’s soil, a microbiome of bacteria, viruses and fungi process carbon and nitrogen, paving the way for future plants and trees to grow. However, fire changes the microbes within the soil. Recently, JGI collaborators worked to understand which microbes in the soil persist after a wildfire — and why they thrive. Their results appear in Nature Microbiology.
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