Why Sequence Microbes?
Microbes, the oldest form of life on Earth, inhabit nearly every environment and can thrive under extreme conditions of heat, cold, pressure, and radiation. Although microbes represent the vast majority of life on the planet, more than 99% have not been cultured, and consequently their genomic diversity has been largely unrecognized and unutilized. By studying their DNA, scientists hope to find ways to use microbes to develop new pharmaceutical and agricultural products, energy sources, industrial processes, and solutions to a variety of environmental problems.
JGI has already sequenced more than 60 microbes, many of which have far-reaching implications for addressing such DOE mission challenges as the remediation of radioactive and hazardous waste sites, sequestering heat-trapping carbon from the atmosphere, and developing renewable energy sources. For more about each of the microbes sequenced or to be sequenced at JGI, see the list of microbes by potential application.
