Fungal ‘bouncers’ patrol plant–microbe relationship

Using a data-driven approach described in the journal PNAS Nexus, ORNL scientists were able to predict which substances would best stimulate fungal metabolites. They validated their findings in the lab using cultures of the mold Aspergillus fumigatus, mass spectrometry analysis, and comparison to published datasets. The approach greatly speeds the painstaking process typically deployed to identify, extract, and characterize specialized metabolites. Read more

SCIENCE WATCH

Coastal chemistry improves methane modeling—Scientists at ORNL are using a new modeling framework in conjunction with data collected from marshes in the Mississippi Delta to improve predictions of climate-warming methane and nitrous oxide emissions from soils in coastal ecosystems. Incorporating these biogeochemical processes into the land module of the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model will depict global methane fluctuations more accurately. Read more

Reaping agricultural emissions solutions—A new computational framework developed in collaboration with ORNL’s Jiafu Mao provides a detailed assessment of ammonia emissions from global croplands and identifies practices that could curb release of the gas. Croplands are the single largest source of atmospheric ammonia, with implications for human health, soil and waterway acidification, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and climate change. However, the international study found that emissions could be cut by 38% without altering total fertilizer inputs, as detailed in Nature. Read more

New method monitors grid stability with hydropower project signals—ORNL and UT-Knoxville researchers developed an algorithm to predict electric grid stability using signals from pumped storage hydropower projects. The method provides critical situational awareness as the grid increasingly shifts to intermittent renewable power. Read more

Circular Bioeconomy Convergent Research Initiative—ORNL and University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture scientists will collaborate on circular bioeconomy systems as part of a new Convergent Research Initiative awarded by the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute. The team headed by ORNL’s Erin Webb and UT’s Niki Labbe will use emerging science to produce materials from sustainable carbon sources, pioneering the shift toward low-energy and low-carbon-intensity circular agriculture and manufacturing. Read more

Southeast Texas Urban Integrated Field Laboratory—A new video highlights DOE’s Southeast Texas Urban Integrated Field Laboratory project, in which several ORNL researchers are partnered with colleagues at Texas colleges and universities. The project seeks a better understanding of, and potential solutions for, climate change–related hazards such as flooding in coastal Texas communities. View here

Field highlights climate-friendly agricultural practices for PBS—John Field provided insight into practices that can reduce carbon emissions in the agricultural sector in an article for PBS NewsHour. Read more

National Fish Passage dataset webinar—The National Fish Passage dataset team hosted an overview of the project and associated stakeholder questionnaire. ORNL is teamed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Low Impact Hydropower Institute in this project to create a georeferenced dataset of fish passage facilities at U.S. hydropower infrastructure. View here

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Cushman and Yang participate in Early Career program—KC Cushman and Daryl Yang are among the cohorts awarded a spot in the ORNL 2024 Early Career Development Program. Now in its second year, the program gives participants foundational information and networking opportunities to advance their research goals and scientific careers.

Schadt elected to JGI User Executive Committee—Chris Schadt has been elected to the DOE Joint Genome Institute’s User Executive Committee, representing the JGI user community by providing input and advice on the institute’s policy and practices.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Employee-led giving at the $1M mark for area nonprofits—ORNL staff contributed more than $828,000 to local nonprofits through the lab’s employee giving programs in 2023. ORNL’s managing contractor, UT-Battelle, provided an additional $139,600 in support of employee efforts. Staff also recorded more than 1,497 volunteer hours, serving 56 nonprofits. With the value of these volunteer hours estimated at $36,232, total employee-led contributions for 2023 were valued at more than $1 million. Read more

RESEARCHER PROFILE

Ilenne Del Valle: Rooting out clues to plant health with burbly microbes

Much as the gut microbiome is increasingly linked in human health, so the soil microbiome is key to the fate of plants. At ORNL, Ilenne Del Valle is combining her expertise in soil science and synthetic biology to devise technologies like biosensors and artificial soils that can yield important clues from the soil environment to encourage climate-resilient ecosystems.

“If we want to develop a soil probiotic that has a functional impact on plants, we need to know how to engineer those probiotics for maximum effectiveness under different field conditions.”

As part of her work for the DOE Secure Ecosystem Engineering and Design Scientific Focus Area, or SEED SFA, Del Valle is focused on understanding how microbes get established in the soil environment around plant roots, known as the rhizosphere. She and her colleagues in the lab’s Biosciences Division have an end goal of engineering natural ecosystems for resilience, with a focus on bioenergy from nonfood plants and increasing the amount of greenhouse gases locked away in plants and soils. Read more

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.