Bioindicator "fingerprints" of methane-emitting thermokarst features in Alaskan soils.

Permafrost thaw increases the bioavailability of ancient organic matter, facilitating microbial metabolism of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide, and methane (CH). The formation of thermokarst (thaw) lakes in icy, organic-rich Yedoma permafrost leads to high CH emissions, and subsurface microbes that have the potential to be biogeochemical drivers of organic carbon turnover in these systems. However, to better characterize and quantify rates of permafrost changes, methods that further clarify the relationship between subsurface biogeochemical processes and microbial dynamics are needed.

Biotic countermeasures that rescue from a infection.

The natural assemblage of a symbiotic bacterial microbiome (bacteriome) with microalgae in marine ecosystems is now being investigated as a means to increase algal productivity for industry. When algae are grown in open pond settings, biological contamination causes an estimated 30% loss of the algal crop. Therefore, new crop protection strategies that do not disrupt the native algal bacteriome are needed to produce reliable, high-yield algal biomass.

High-Density Guide RNA Tiling and Machine Learning for Designing CRISPR Interference in sp. PCC 7002.

While CRISPRi was previously established in sp. PCC 7002 (hereafter 7002), the design principles for guide RNA (gRNA) effectiveness remain largely unknown. Here, 76 strains of 7002 were constructed with gRNAs targeting three reporter systems to evaluate features that impact gRNA efficiency.