Microbial companions of humans and animals are highly specialized

Humans and animals are never alone. Everyone is host to over two thousand different species of microbes, of which most colonize our bodies only after we are born. One would assume that the generalists among them have an advantage. ...

Hope for re-establishing Gulf of Mexico microbial populations

One of the first studies published in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill involved DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers and confirmed that microbial communities did play a role in dispersing the hydrocarbons ...

Microbes can influence evolution of their hosts

You are not just yourself. You are also the thousands of microbes that you carry. In fact, they represent an invisible majority that may be more you than you realize.

Genome organization of organism reflects its 'hot' lifestyle

(Phys.org) —Microbial genomes have incredible functional and regulatory complexity, making them of great interest for potential environmental, energy, health, and industrial applications. In a study published in PLoS Genetics, ...

Streamlining a common survival strategy in marine microbes

(Phys.org) —Despite advances made in the fields of DNA sequencing and analysis, researchers have barely begun to scratch the tip of the iceberg in cataloging the planet's microbial diversity, mainly because only a minute ...

Study uncovers secrets of biological soil crusts

They lie dormant for years, but at the first sign of favorable conditions they awaken. This sounds like the tagline for a science fiction movie, but it describes the amazing life-cycles of microbial organisms that form the ...

page 3 from 6