Microfabrication of a Chamber for High-Resolution, In Situ Imaging of the Whole Root for Plant-Microbe Interactions.

Fabricated ecosystems (EcoFABs) offer an innovative approach to in situ examination of microbial establishment patterns around plant roots using nondestructive, high-resolution microscopy. Previously high-resolution imaging was challenging because the roots were not constrained to a fixed distance from the objective. Here, we describe a new 'Imaging EcoFAB' and the use of this device to image the entire root system of growing at high resolutions (20×, 40×) over a 3-week period.

CRAGE-Duet Facilitates Modular Assembly of Biological Systems for Studying Plant-Microbe Interactions.

Developing sustainable agricultural practices will require increasing our understanding of plant-microbe interactions. To study these interactions, new genetic tools for manipulating nonmodel microbes will be needed. To help meet this need, we recently reported development of chassis-independent recombinase-assisted genome engineering (CRAGE).

Thermophilic enrichment of microbial communities in the presence of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate.

Aims: The aim of the study was to develop an approach to enrich ionic liquid tolerant micro-organisms that efficiently decompose lignocellulose in a thermophilic and high-solids environment.

Methods And Results: High-solids incubations were conducted, using compost as an inoculum source, to enrich for thermophilic communities that decompose switchgrass in the presence of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim][OAc]). Ionic liquid levels were increased from 0 to 6% on a total weight basis incrementally.