A discovery by GLBRC researchers could help turn a natural kill switch in plant cells into a “life switch” that helps crops better survive the challenges presented by climate change.
A key discovery by Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center scientists reveals how root interactions among Midwest prairie perennials, including the bioenergy crop switchgrass, increase soil carbon when grown in specific pairings. These beneficial plant combinations also created more soil pores that support fungi that are associated with soil carbon accrual.
This week we sat down with Surajudeen Omolabake, a graduate student in Shannon Stahl’s lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about creating useful chemicals from wood, his dogs Sky and Cecille, and what led him to UW–Madison.
Microbial communities are everywhere in the environment. The interactions among these complex networks of organisms shape the overall community function and metabolism, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Vanderbilt University will use a $2.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to chart the evolution of over one-thousand budding yeast species across the span of four hundred million years.
Bioenergy crops are an alternative energy source that, unlike fossil fuels, could positively impact the environment by reducing greenhouse gases, soil erosion, and carbon dioxide levels. They can be produced even more sustainably if they are grown on poor quality land unsuitable for food.
Congratulations to Federica Brandizzi and Robert Last who were awarded the title of University Distinguished Professor in recognition of their exceptional teaching abilities, prominent record of public service, and scholarly, creative and artistic achievements.
To Cheyenne Lei, a Ph.D. student in the landscape ecology and ecosystem science lab at Michigan State University (MSU), geography can mean dabbling in remote sensing, satellite imagery, hydrology, or even volcanic eruptions. Lei uses this broad curiosity at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) to study how land in the Midwest accommodates the sun’s rays, a phenomenon called “albedo.”
On June 8, the Senate passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, a sweeping bill that would make significant investments in critical technology areas and increase the number of Americans who can participate in the benefits of scientific innovation. Attention now turns to the House, which will consider its own version of the bill.
This study examines the role of lipids in the relationship between leaf-cutter ants and the fungi they cultivate. Both the ants and the fungi benefit, and the organisms co-evolved to create this symbiotic relationship. This type of fungal metabolic regulation could be harnessed to develop microbial systems for sustainable bioproduct production.
