Biosciences Area

  • About Biosciences
    • Leadership
    • Area Operations Centers
    • Strategic Plan and Reports
    • Strategic Programs Development Group
    • Contact Information
  • Our Science
    • Area Programs
    • Strategic Initiatives
    • Biological Systems and Engineering
    • Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology
    • Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging
    • DOE Joint Genome Institute
  • Media and Events
    • News
    • Announcements
    • Behind the Breakthroughs
    • Events Calendar
    • Seminar Series
  • Staff Resources
    • Commonly Used Acronyms
    • Communications
    • Hiring and Recruitment
    • Hybrid & Telework Resources
    • IDEA
    • Intellectual Property, Industry Engagement, and Entrepreneurship
    • LDRD Information
    • Logos and Templates
    • Mentoring Program
  • Search

A Biofuel Breakthrough, Courtesy of Fungi

March 22, 2023

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

February 28, 2023

A vertical tree stump outdoors with about a dozen shiitake mushrooms sprouting from its surface.

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

October 10, 2022

A burned tree stump, as the photo on the cover of nature microbiology.

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.

JGI Helps Shed Light on How Antarctic Algae Have Adapted to Cold

June 7, 2022

A photograph of a stream of diatoms underneath Arctic sea ice.

In Nature Ecology and Evolution, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, the University of East Anglia, and the JGI have explored the genome of the polar algae Microglena sp. YARC. The green alga harbors extra genes for proteins requiring zinc, and those genes turn out to be key for the phytoplankton’s ability to live in cold polar waters. Learn more here on the JGI website.

JGI Helps Determine Fungal Friends or Foes in Plant Roots

March 9, 2022

Photograph of 41 fungal isolates representative of the A. thaliana root mycobiome (© S. Hacquard / MPIPZ)

In Nature Communications, an international team involving researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIPZ), the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) and the JGI uncovered associations between plant roots and fungi that can help or harm plant host health. They compared the genomes of fungi that colonize Arabidopsis thaliana roots with genomes from other plant-associated fungi. Learn more here on the JGI website.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Was this page useful?

Send
like not like

About Biosciences

  • Leadership
  • Area Operations Centers
  • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability (IDEA)
  • Contact

Divisions & User Facility

  • Biological Systems and Engineering
  • Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology
  • Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging
  • DOE Joint Genome Institute

Resources

  • A-Z Index
  • Phonebook
  • Logos
  • Acronyms
  • Integrated Safety Management
Questions & Comments
Follow us: Mastodon LinkedIn YouTube