Science Focus Area: Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Principal Investigator and Laboratory Research Manager: Patrick Chain1
- Co-Investigators: Karen Davenport1, Armand Dichosa1, Jim Werner1, Laverne Gallegos-Graves1, Dean Morales1, Aaron Robinson1, Julia Kelliher1, Kenya Yniguez1, Erick LeBrun1, Pilar Junier2, Saskia Bindschedler2, Fabio Palmieri2, Celia Cruz2, Christophe Paul2, Ilona Palmieri2, Guillaume Cailleau2, Debora Rodrigues3, Simone Lupini3, Jamey Young4, Amy Zeng4, Baltazar Zuniga4, Irina Trenary4, Jason Corwin5
- Former Members: Geoffrey House, Hang Nguyen
- Unfunded Collaborators: Jessy L. Labbé6
- Participating Institutions: 1Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2University of Neuchatel, 3University of Houston, 4Vanderbilt University, 5Colorado State University, 6Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Overview Brochure: Download PDF
- Project Website: www.lanl.gov/science-innovation/science-programs/office-of-science-programs/biological-environmental-research/sfa-bacteria-fungal.php
- KBase Collaboration: Integrating fungal computational sequence data analysis capabilities
Understanding Bacterial-Fungal Interactions. SFA scientists are using a variety of approaches, including advanced microbiology, state-of-the-art omics, bioimaging techniques, and DOE computing capabilities, to understand the mechanisms driving the interactions and functions of soil bacteria and fungi. [Courtesy LANL]
Summary
Bacteria and fungi are the dominant players in soil microbiomes, with key roles in carbon flux, nutrient cycling, and plant productivity. This project aims to discover fundamental principles underlying bacterial:fungal interactions (BFI) to harness their biotechnological potential for potentially steering the function of soil ecosystems. The SFA’s 10-year vision is to predictively understand complex BFI, in the context of continued environmental change, to enable intentional steering of ecosystem functions for improved and sustainable bioenergy crop production and to enhance soil carbon sequestration and storage. Currently, the main goal is to better understand fundamental biological processes underlying highly specialized interactions between bacteria and fungi. This SFA uses novel bioinformatic algorithms with advanced scientific computing capabilities provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), coupled with targeted metagenomics to identify previously uncharacterized bacterial:fungal associations. Research will determine the range of BFI in the context of abiotic environmental changes such as shifts in moisture, nutrient availability, and temperature. The project also will characterize the underlying mechanisms of these interactions at the cellular and molecular scales using multiomics interrogation coupled with advanced in situ imaging techniques. These studies will provide the foundational knowledge for predictive models of soil community function that is required to fulfill the biotechnological potential of the soil microbiome.