Category Archives: community ecology

What is DAS? A new tool to recover genomes from metagenomes

Posted on 8 Jun, 2018 by Kelle Freel

There are a lot of data out there, and if you haven’t already noticed the ‘omics train has steadily stayed its path through the fruitful (but challenging) world of metagenomics. Metagenomics offers the chance to unravel complex microbial communities without … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, community ecology, genomics, metagenomics, methods, microbiology, next generation sequencing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Signal Boosting a Comprehensive Review of eDNA and Metabarcoding Studies

Posted on 10 Apr, 2018 by Katharine Coykendall

Everything is meta these days – metabarcoding, metagenomics, and now meta blog posts that are reviews of reviews. Much like every ecologist at least dabbles in the molecular world, so most of those predisposed to molecular ecology and population genetics … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, community ecology, DNA barcoding, metagenomics, methods, microbiology, next generation sequencing, population genetics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Major new microbial groups expand diversity and alter our understanding of the tree of life

Posted on 18 Mar, 2018 by Laetitia Wilkins

I still believe in revolutions. And sometimes they just happen, almost unnoticed. One such revolution happened on a boring 11th of April 2016 when Laura Hug et al. published their new tree of life in the journal of Nature Microbiology. … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, community ecology, evolution, genomics, metagenomics, microbiology, next generation sequencing, phylogenetics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Exploring the genomic diversity of tubeworm endosymbionts

Posted on 1 Feb, 2018 by Kelle Freel

Tubeworms are cool. (To be read only in your best (eleventh) Doctor Who voice). Although, depending on how close they are to a hydrothermal vent, they might be more on the hot side….Regardless, if you’re on the fence about how … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, Coevolution, community ecology, evolution, genomics, metagenomics, microbiology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Retrieving a million sequences and avoiding primer bias, a new method that might have it all

Posted on 19 Jan, 2018 by Kelle Freel

We have come a long way since the early days when sequencing was a breakthrough method initially used to identify uncultured microbes from the environment. It is now been almost three decades, in fact, since the first microbial 16S rRNA … Continue reading →

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Diving deep: Exploring microbial communities under the seafloor

Posted on 7 Dec, 2017 by Kelle Freel

As we all sat staring at three large monitors in the front of the room, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason hung on to a borehole observatory with one hydraulic arm as the other arm plugged our sampling equipment into … Continue reading →

Posted in bioinformatics, community ecology, fieldwork, genomics, metagenomics, microbiology, transcriptomics | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Genomes are coming: Sequence libraries from the honey bee reflect associated microbial diversity

Posted on 20 Jul, 2017 by Kelle Freel

One of the coolest of reasons that cheap sequencing is nifty, in my opinion, is that it has allowed researchers to study individual eukaryotic organisms, and their associated microbes (their microbiome). Let’s be real, we are in the midst of … Continue reading →

Posted in Coevolution, community ecology, evolution, genomics, metagenomics, microbiology, next generation sequencing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Like Turtles, Terrapin Research Moves a Little Slow

Posted on 4 Apr, 2017 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Marlee Hayes wrote this post as a final project for Stacy Krueger-Hadfield’s Science Communication course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her primary interests focus on challenges in conservation and sustainability. Previously, she evaluated fitness of post-hatchling Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin), … Continue reading →

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A sponge and its symbionts, using genomics to unravel complex relationships

Posted on 30 Mar, 2017 by Kelle Freel

The ocean is full of interesting organisms and even more fascinating (as well as difficult to tease apart) are the interactions among them. From deep sea giant tube worms, to the adorable bobtail squid, symbioses have a central role, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Coevolution, community ecology, genomics, metagenomics, microbiology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Deep in the meadow, under the … seagrass, a bed of temporally stable diversity?

Posted on 16 Mar, 2017 by Stacy Krueger-Hadfield

Genetically diverse populations are often more stable and productive. For habitat-forming organisms, such as seagrasses, this results in increased habitat complexity and more abundant associated communities (e.g., Hughes and Stachowicz 2004, Reusch et al. 2005).  Spatial patterns of genetic diversity … Continue reading →

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