"Microbes constitute as much or more of the living mass on this planet than do the 'higher forms,'" Woese said. "Microbes are absolutely basal to the great flows of organic matter and energy that underlie the biosphere; without them macroscopic life on this planet is impossible. In other words, the existence of macroscopic life is totally conditioned upon the prior and continued existence of microbial life. You can see why the proposed work delights an old evolutionist like myself. Here you see the microbial world in its full glory--its true significance to the biosphere, and so to mankind. Here is the microbiology of the 21st century."
The genomic and functional data gleaned from the Antarctic environmental samples, linked to meteorological, geological, chemical and physical data, will provide a better understanding about how these microorganisms have evolved, transformed, and presently interact with their frigid environment. These studies, while basic to understanding how microbes cope with environmental challenges, also seek to unlock the potential of cold-adapted microbes as sources of fuel, for example, transforming carbon dioxide effluent into methane. The work has even more astronomical ramifications--modeling extraterrestrial environments and processes.
Plant pests are the target of another international collaboration, linking researchers in Sweden, France, Norway, Germany, Canada and at the University of California, Berkeley. Heterobasidion annosum is the most economically deva
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Contact: David Gilbert
gilbert21@llnl.gov
925-296-5643
DOE/Joint Genome Institute
11-Jul-2006