Fungal find offers new gateway into bioenergy research
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Category: ResearchType: News
Source: PNNL
Date: Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017
News Brief
May 23, 2017 
RICHLAND, Wash. - Scientists have found a genetic modification in fungi that is more common than has been thought, offering scientists a new tool as they explore the use of fungi to convert biomass to fuels, chemicals and enzymes.
Jon Magnuson and David Culley of the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab are 2 of in excess of 2 dozen authors from ten institutions who published the results May eight in Nature Genetics. The study was led by scientists at the Joint Genome Institute, a D.O.E. Office of Science User Facility.
The team studied a specific type of DNA modification known as 6mA in 16 different fungal genomes from divergent lineages. Scientists found higher levels of the modification than they expected, including in fungi that date from the earliest fungi in excess of a billion years ago. The modification is most prevalent in highly active genes that are turned on. Such a widespread genomic function is welcome news to scientists who use fungi to create products useful in research related to bioenergy and the environment.
In the past few years the PNNL fungal biotechnology group has been involved in the identification, growth and sequencing of many of the fungi being sequenced as part of the JGI 1000 Fungal Genomes Plan, including many of the species used in this study.
More information is in the news release from JGI.
Tags: Energy, Fundamental Science, Biofuel, Biology, Microbiology
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an yearly budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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