Every summer, the JGI invites undergraduate and graduate students from the University of California, Merced to participate in the flagship JGI-UC Merced Internship Program and engage in real, impactful research projects with JGI mentors. In this episode, hear two interns from the 2021 cohort describe their deep dives into genomics, computational tools, and big data. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at...

The US Department of Energy’s favorite tree is poplar. They’re the fastest growing trees in the Northern Hemisphere, making them tantalizing plants to harness for bioenergy. In this episode, hear from Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists who have uncovered remarkable genetic secrets that bring us closer to making poplar an economical and sustainable source of energy and materials. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at...

You might know sorghum as an edible grain. But there are some sorghum varieties, grown on marginal land with little water, which were developed specifically to turn their biomass into sustainable biofuel and bioproducts. John Mullet, a biologist at Texas A&M University, tells us how sorghum’s historical — and literal — roots could play a big role in our energy future. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at...

Lawrence Livermore National Lab biologist Jennifer Pett-Ridge collaborated with JGI scientists on an ambitious project: to bring in robots to help process experiments that measure microbial activity in soil. Now, the researchers and robots have made these experiments easier for scientists everywhere. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-s2-ep5-a-powerful-technique-to-study-microbes-now-easier 

There’s a party in the soil, and microbes are the VIPs. They’re feasting on the compounds that plants secrete through their roots, creating a lively zone called the rhizosphere. In this episode, biologist Jennifer Pett-Ridge of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has your backstage pass. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-s2ep4-party-in-the-rhizosphere

Biofuels and bioproducts are a way to kick our addiction to fossil fuels. In this episode, we get a peek into how scientists Aindrila Mukhopadhyay and Steve Singer are harnessing the versatile bacterium Pseudomonas putida to break down biomass and help bring about a more sustainable, bio-based economy. They conduct research at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a JGI partner and one of the four US Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers. Find more info on this episode, including...

Diatoms, a group of tiny algae, are also known as “living opals” because of the strange, beautiful properties of their silica shells. But what genes are responsible for such mesmerizing exteriors? Setsuko Wakao and Kris Niyogi, biologists at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, aim to find out. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-s2ep2-cracking-the-secrets-of-the-diatoms-shell/.

A tall native plant of the North American prairie, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has long been a tantalizing potential biofuel feedstock. But switchgrass has a complex genome and, as a species, encompasses dizzying diversity. So, a team of scientists made an ambitious plan to link the plant’s diverse traits — height, biomass, hardiness to cold, etc. — to its genes. The undertaking took shovels, trucks — and more than a decade. With the results just published in the journal Nature, listen...

Every fall, a mysterious green growth appears on farmers’ fields: a microbial community that might be quietly improving the soil. Penn State researchers Mary Ann Bruns and Terry Bell are digging in to understand how. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at http://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-episode-9-soil-blooms-green. We hope you enjoy this last episode of Season 1! Stay tuned for Season 2, coming in 2021.

Can plants help humans attain a renewable energy future? Can they help lock away more carbon? Xiaohan Yang, a scientist at Oakridge National Laboratory, believes they can. And, what’s more, that using gene editing technology to conscientiously mix traits of different plant species will help us get there. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, here: jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-episode-8-plantiful-future-xiaohan-yang-ornl.

Life as we know it wouldn’t exist without cyanobacteria; they began oxygenating Earth over two billion years ago. A team of researchers set out to Yellowstone National Park to study how cyanobacteria are living, communally, in microbial mats. Along the way, they’ve encountered surprises, adopted new technologies, and made a few discoveries about the microbial mat denizens. Find more info on the episode, including the transcript, here:...

A mini-episode: JGI collaborator Pankaj Trivedi is harnessing microbiome science to make plants more resilient to drought.

As waters warm due to climate change, corals are in mortal peril. But corals comprise multiple organisms: a coral host, a photosynthetic microalgae, and a little-characterized microbiome. When warm waters stress corals but before they bleach, a coral’s microbes, including its photosynthetic partner, may be what helps them take the heat. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, here: https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-episode-5-corals-in-hot-water-get-help-from-their-microbes/

Despite their diminutive stature, “short plants” such as mosses could be uniquely powerful in helping scientists link plant genetic sequences to what they do. But sequencing the genome of one short plant — fire moss — has an unexpected hurdle: ginormous sex chromosomes. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, here: https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-episode-3-river-microbiomes-from-around-the-world/

Kelly Wrighton and her group at Colorado State University in Fort Collins have a massive undertaking: sequencing the world’s river microbiomes. And they’re using team science to do it. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript here: https://jgi.doe.gov/?p=19215.

Gary Trubl, virologist and postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has more to share about bacteria-infecting viruses in the arctic. He’s researching how viruses influence the flow of carbon in thawing peatlands — and bioinformatics and isotopes are crucial to the quest. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript here: https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-gary-trubl-and-arctic-viruses-part-2/.

Gary Trubl, virologist and postdoc at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has more to share about bacteria-infecting viruses in the arctic. He’s researching how viruses influence the flow of carbon in thawing peatlands — and bioinformatics and isotopes are crucial to the quest. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript here.

Alison Takemura tells you about the podcast, and Ed Hall, microbiologist at Colorado State University, talks about how this is a unique time in human history. Genome Insider is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute.

Alison Takemura tells you about the podcast, and Monica Medina, coral biologist at Penn State, talks about going from tiny critters to magnificent coral reefs.  Genome Insider is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute.

Alison Takemura tells you about the podcast, and Kelly Wrighton, microbiologist at Colorado State University, talks about filters full of microbes.  Genome Insider is brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute.

What sound does a peatland make?

Genome Institute presents Gary Trubl, an early career scientist who spent the tail end of grad school conducting his research at JGI. Hear about soil viruses, carbon cycling, and how JGI researchers helped Gary get data.