Press Releases
May 4, 2008
Lean and Mean Biomass-Degrading Fungus Reveals Targeted Capabilities for Improved Biofuel Production. The genome analysis of a champion biomass-degrading fungus has revealed a surprisingly minimal repertoire of genes that it employs to break down plant cell walls, highlighting opportunities for further improvements in enzymes customized for biofuels production.
March 5, 2008
Mechanisms of Plant-Fungi Symbiosis Characterized by DOE Joint Genome Institute, Collaborators. Plants gained their ancestral toehold on dry land with considerable help from their fungal friends. Now, millennia later, that partnership is being exploited as a strategy to bolster biomass production for next-generation biofuels.
February 7, 2008
DOE JGI Releases a New Version of its Metagenome Data Management & Analysis System. Targeting its ever-expanding user community, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released an upgraded version of the IMG/M metagenome data management and analysis system.
January 17, 2008
DOE JGI Releases Soybean Genome Assembly. A preliminary assembly and annotation of the soybean genome, Glycine max, has been made available by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI), to the greater scientific community to enable bioenergy research.
December 13, 2007
DOE JGI Community Sequencing Program Delivers First Moss Genome. Messages from nearly a half-billion years ago, conveyed via the inventory of genes sequenced from a present-day moss, provide clues about the earliest colonization of dry land by plants.
December 4, 2007
Latest Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) Data Management System Update Release.
Version 2.4 of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system, a resource provided to the scientific community for microbial genome data analysis, has now been released.
November 21, 2007
DOE JGI Plumbs Termite Guts to Yield Novel Enzymes for Better Biofuel Production.
Termites -- notorious for their voracious appetite for wood, rendering houses to dust and causing billions of dollars in damage per year -- may provide the biochemical means to a greener biofuel future.
November 1, 2007
DOE Joint Genome Institute’s Pennacchio Wins Presidential Early Career Award. Len Pennacchio, Genetic Analysis Program Head at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and senior staff scientist in the Genomics Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is among this year’s recipients of The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
October 18, 2007
Massive Reanalysis of Genome Data Solves Case of the Lethal Genes. [A JGI] survey identified genes that kill the bacteria employed in the sequencing process and throw a microbial wrench in the works. It also offers a possible strategy for the discovery of new antibiotics.
October 11, 2007
Green Alga Genome Project Catalogs Carbon Capture Machinery and Reveals Identity as Ancient Cousin of Land Plants and Animals. The genome analysis of a tiny green alga has uncovered hundreds of genes that are uniquely associated with carbon dioxide capture and generation of biomass.
September 4, 2007
Upgraded Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) Data Management System Released by DOE JGI to Eager User Community. A powerful set of computational tools established to ease the visualization and exploration of genomes flooding the public domain is now available in IMG Version 2.3
June 25, 2007
DOE Joint Genome Institute Secures Long-Term Lease on Production Genomics Facility. The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has secured a five-year extension on its lease with an option for an additional five years.
June 20, 2007
DOE JGI
Upgrades its Microbial Genome Analysis System. Rising to accommodate the scientific community’s interest in harnessing the potential of the microbial world, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has made Version 2.2 of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system available to the public.
June 8, 2007
DOE JGI Announces 2008 Genome Sequencing Targets. Toward the goal of harnessing the power of nature through DNA sequencing, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has announced the latest Community Sequencing Program (CSP) portfolio.
May 14, 2007
DOE JGI Sets 'Gold Standard' for Metagenomic Data Analysis. The field of metagenomics is still in its infancy--the equivalent of the early days of the California Gold Rush, with labs vying to stake their claim. Amidst the prospecting, the call has been issued for methods to separate fool's gold from the real nuggets. Such a gold standard has now been provided through work led by DOE JGI.
April 30, 2007
Puzzling Plankton Yield Secrets to Role in Evolution/Global Photosynthesis. The analysis of DNA sequences from tiny green algae have provided new insights into the mystery of how new species of plankton evolve—and further highlights their critical role in managing the global cycling of carbon.
March 22, 2007
No Pain, DOE Joint Genome Institute Gains Coveted Ergonomics Prize with "Shake 'N Plate". Emerging from a record field of 28 finalists representing many major multinational companies, a team of scientists and engineers from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) won the 2007 Ergo Cup.
March 15, 2007
DOE JGI Releases Enhanced Genome Data Management System IMG 2.1, Marking Two-Year Anniversary.
As interest in the rising number of newly characterized microbial genomes mounts, powerful computational tools become critical for the management and analysis of these data to enable strategies for such challenges as harvesting the potential of carbon-neutral bioenergy sources and coping with global climate change.
March 5, 2007
Super-Fermenting Fungus Genome Sequenced. On the road to making biofuels more economically competitive with fossil fuels, there are significant potholes to negotiate. For cellulosic ethanol production, one major detour has being addressed with the characterization of the genetic blueprint of the fungus Pichia stipitis, by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and collaborators at the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL).
January 22, 2007
DOE JGI Upgrades IMG/M, the
Metagenomics Data Management & Analysis System.
On the one-year anniversary of the launch of the experimental metagenome data management and analysis system, IMG/M, the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released the latest upgrade.
December 1, 2006
DOE JGI Releases
IMG 2.0 with all Genomes Refreshed from RefSeq. Version 2.0 of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has been released to the public.
November 15, 2006
Neanderthal Genome Sequencing Yields Surprising Results and Opens a New Door to Future Studies. The veil of mystery surrounding our extinct hominid cousins, the Neanderthals, has been at least partially lifted to reveal surprising results. Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) have sequenced genomic DNA from fossilized Neanderthal bones.
November 2, 2006
Neuron Cell Stickiness May Hold Key to Evolution of the Human Brain. In a study comparing the genomes of humans, chimpanzees, mice and other vertebrates, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Joint Genome Institute (JGI) found a strikingly high degree of genetic differences in DNA sequences that appear to regulate genes involved in nerve cell adhesion molecules.
October 17, 2006
Genomic Comparison of Lactic Acid Bacteria Published. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and the University of California, Davis, and their colleagues have characterized the genome sequences of nine different lactic acid-producing bacteria, or LAB, and have published their findings in the October 17 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
September 25, 2006
Better Sludge through Metagenomics--Researchers Seek to Master Wastewater Treatment Failures. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and collaborators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Advanced Wastewater Management Centre, University of Queensland, Australia, have published the first metagenomic study of an activated sludge wastewater treatment process.
September 18, 2006
No Guts, No Worries: Worm Enlists Full-Service Microbes for Transportation, Energy, & Waste Management. Researchers have now characterized the unique lifestyle of a gutless worm that commutes through marine sediments powered by a community of symbiotic microbial specialists harbored just under its skin, obviating the need for digestive and excretory systems.
September 14, 2006
The First Tree Genome is Published. Wood from a common tree may one day factor prominently in meeting transportation fuel needs, according to scientists whose research on the fast-growing poplar tree is featured on the cover of tomorrow's edition of the journal Science.
August 31, 2006
DOE JGI, VBI Describe Evolutionary Origin, Disease-Causing Mechanisms of Sudden Oak Death, Related Soybean Disease Pathogens. By comparing the complete genome sequences of two plant-killing pathogens and related organisms, researchers from DOE JGI, in collaboration with the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) and others, have uncovered crucial aspects of the disease-causing mechanisms of "Sudden Oak Death" (SOD) and soybean root rot disease.
July 24, 2006
DOE JGI Sequences, Releases Genome of Symbiotic Tree Fungus. The DNA sequence of Laccaria bicolor, a fungus that forms a beneficial symbiosis with trees and inhabits one of the most ecologically and commercially important microbial niches in North American and Eurasian forests, has been determined by DOE JGI.
July 11, 2006
Energy-rich Portfolio of New Genome Sequencing Targets for
DOE JGI. Bioenergy crop plants switchgrass and cassava, other important agricultural commodities such as cotton, and microbes geared to break down plant material to render biofuels, round out the roster of more than 40 projects to be tackled by DOE JGI over the next year.
June 27, 2006
DOE JGI Releases IMG 1.5 with Curated Archaeal Genomes. Version 1.5 of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system of the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has been released to the public.
May 23, 2006
DOE JGI Finishes 100th Microbial Genome.
On May 23, at the general meeting of the American Society of Microbiology (ASM), the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) will announce that it has finished the sequence of100 microbial genomes and released this information for the benefit of the global research community.
April 21 , 2006
DOE JGI to Host Microbial Genomics Workshop for Educators in Recognition of Earth Day & National DNA Day. On April 24-25, in the spirit of both Earth Day and National DNA Day, DOE JGI will host a Microbial Genomics Workshop geared toward revealing the rest of the story--the bioinformatics end--to educators who may then spread the word in their classrooms and inspire students to pursue careers in this burgeoning field.
March 30, 2006
DOE JGI Releases Experimental Metagenomic Data Management & Analysis System. The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has released to the worldwide research community IMG/M, an experimental metagenome data management and analysis system.
January 18, 2006
Ecology Model gets Its Genome Sequenced. At the Daphnia Genomics Consortium's annual meeting in Bloomington this week, Indiana University and Joint Genome Institute scientists announced they've completed a "shotgun" sequence for Daphnia pulex, or the water flea.
January 17, 2006
USDA and DOE to Coordinate Research of Plant and Microbial Genomics. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy announced Monday they will share resources and coordinate the study of plant and microbial genomics, and the Department of Energy will tackle the sequencing of the soybean genome as the first project resulting from the agreement.
January 10, 2006
Report Highlights DOE Joint Genome Institute Achievements. The U.S. Department of Energy investment in large-scale genome sequencing is paying dividends with powerful implications for the nation's energy and environmental clean-up needs, according to a report just released by the DOE Joint Genome Institute.
December 22, 2005
DOE JGI Issues New Call for Large-Scale Sequencing Proposals. Responding to the escalating demand for genome sequencing to unlock the potential of plants and microbes as fuel for the nation's energy needs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has announced the call for 2007 Community Sequencing Program (CSP) proposals.
December 1, 2005
DOE JGI Releases Fourth Version of IMG in 2005.
The fourth version of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has been made available to the public.
September 1, 2005
DOE JGI Releases Latest Version of IMG. An enhanced version of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has been made available to the public.
June 2 , 2005
DOE JGI Sequences DNA from Extinct Cave Bear. The genomic DNA sequencing of an extinct Pleistocene cave bear species--the kind of stuff once reserved for science fiction--has been logged into scientific literature thanks to investigators from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI).
June 1 , 2005
DOE JGI Releases Latest Version of IMG . An enhanced version of the Integrated Microbial Genomes (IMG) data management system has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI). IMG 1.1 contains 32 new public genomes and 14 new genomes sequenced by DOE JGI, bringing the total of genomes in IMG to 337.
May 12, 2005
DOE JGI Announces 2006 Community Sequencing Program Portfolio. . . . More than 40 new genome projects, representing a cornucopia of life forms, from the important grain sorghum to catfish, crustaceans, and a host of extreme lifestyle microbes, slated for DNA sequencing by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI).
April 21, 2005
Study Reveals New Technique for Fingerprinting Environmental Samples. Groundbreaking research led by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) demonstrates for the first time that the signatures of the genes alone in terrestrial and aquatic samples can accurately diagnose the health of the sampled environments.
