MEB Seminar Series | Ben Tully, Ph.D.

Benjamin Tully, Ph.D.
Post-Doc Research Associate, USC, C-DEBI
Research Website

Exploration of metagenome-assembled genomes sheds light on enigmatic Bacteria and Archaea

Monday, February 11, 2019
12 PM
AHF 153 (Torrey Webb Room)

Abstract: The vast majority of microbial life belongs to uncultured groups, for which we have limited knowledge about their metabolisms and the role they may play in biogeochemical cycles. A concerted global effort to apply metagenomic techniques to the marine environment through the Tara Oceans expedition has provided an opportunity to explore metabolic diversity in cultured and uncultured organisms a like. Combined with recent computational advances, metagenomic datasets can be utilized to reconstruct high-quality, near-complete microbial genomes directly from the environment. We have been analyzing the microbial genomes generated from four studies that applied binning techniques to the Tara Oceans metagenomic datasets in effort to expand our understanding of uncultured microbes in the oceans. This effort has led to the description, identification, and characterization of several known and unknown microbial groups, including a novel lineage of phototrophic Alphaproteobacteria, Candidatus Luxescamonaceae, and the Marine Group II Euryarchaea. Combined with the Tara Oceans metagenomic datasets, we can provide a snapshot of global ecology and abundance for each genome. The observed ecological distributions for these genomes provide insight into their metabolic potential and their contribution to global geochemical cycles.

Short Bio: Ben received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in 2013. In 2014, he joined the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations as their Bioinformatic Specialist. He works with the community to provide the bioinformatic resources required by researchers of the Center and expertise on bioinformatic problems/questions/concerns.