Exploring host-microbe relationships across temporal scales to understand selection and performance of the biological partners. The Plant Microbe Interfaces (PMI) Science Focus Area (SFA) studies the dynamic interface between plants, their microbiome, and the environment. These interactions determine how plants detect and respond to changing conditions, with the goal of understanding how symbiotic relationships adapt […]

Understanding the genetic determinants of environmental persistence, from microbe to community to ecosystem. The Persistence Control of Engineered Functions in Complex Soil Microbiomes Science Focus Area (PerCon SFA), led by Dr. Robert Egbert at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), seeks to understand plant-microbiome interactions in bioenergy crops to establish plant-growth-promoting microbiomes within the rhizosphere. This […]

A systems-level approach to understanding  microbial response to changing soil conditions The Phenotypic Response of the Soil Microbiome to Environmental Perturbations (a.k.a. Soil Microbiome) Science Focus Area, led by Dr. Kirsten Hofmockel at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) uses cross-scale empirical and modeling experiments to identify phenotypic elements underpinning community metabolism, metaphenomes expressed under drought, […]

Foundation for Understanding and Prediction of Microbial and Viral Ecogenomics in Soil The Microbes Persist: Systems Biology of the Soil Microbiome Science Focus Area (SFA), led by Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), aims to understand the critical role that microbes play in the stabilization and persistence of soil carbon. Microbes Persist does […]

Protein Co-Evolutionary Analysis and Virtual Ligand Screening The Biofuels and Protein Structure Science Focus Area (SFA), driven by Brian Davison at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), aims to understand how to efficiently develop renewable biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. To this end, it is important to study protein structure and binding of the byproducts generated throughout […]

Tools and functionality to support a systems biology approach to understanding interactions in bioenergy-relevant microbial communities The µBiospheres Science Focus Area (SFA): Community systems biology of microscale interactions for sustainable bioenergy is led by Dr. Rhona Stuart at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and focuses on microbial interactions within algal and plant “microbiospheres” of influence (phycosphere, […]

Improving microbial isolate and metagenomics workflows in KBase Microbes are essential in cycling carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in subsurface environments. The Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies (ENIGMA) Science Focus Area (SFA), managed by Paul D. Adams and Adam P. Arkin (Technical Co-manager) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), aims to advance […]

Integrating fungal computational sequence data analysis capabilities           The Bacterial-Fungal Interactions Science Focus Area (SFA) driven by Patrick Chain at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) aims to address some of the knowledge gaps around bacterial-fungal interactions within the soil. The researchers are using a multi-omics approach to gain a predictive understanding of the […]

Studying lignocellulosic biomass and how it can be used to generate renewable biofuels is the focus of this SFA, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).