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class="site-content"> <div id="primary" class="content-area"> <main id="main" class="site-main"> <div id="post-wrap"> <lbl-hero-basic title="Microbes to Ecosystems" summary="Advancing climate, energy, and water solutions by understanding how microbes interact with the environment around them, from molecules to ecosystems." layout="research" > <img width="1920" height="720" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_microbes-to-ecosystems_XBD-202103-0023-003-e1658961963707.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-xl size-lbl-components-xl" alt="Scientist works in a plant ecological research pod." slot="media" decoding="async" /> <lbl-breadcrumbs slot="utility" text="<ul><li><a href='https://www.lbl.gov/research/'>Research</a></li><li><span>Microbes to Ecosystems</span></li></ul>" > </lbl-breadcrumbs> <lbl-icon-list slot="utility" theme="hero" title="Share:" > <lbl-icon-list-item theme="hero" slot="icon-list-item" link-text="Twitter" link-url="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Microbes+to+Ecosystems: Advancing+climate%2C+energy%2C+and+water+solutions+by+understanding+how+microbes+interact+with+the+environment+around+them%2C+from+molecules+to+ecosystems.&url=https://www.lbl.gov/research/microbes-to-ecosystems/" link-target="_blank" icon="twitter" > </lbl-icon-list-item> <lbl-icon-list-item theme="hero" slot="icon-list-item" link-text="Linkedin" link-url="https://linkedin.com/shareArticle?title=Microbes+to+Ecosystems: Advancing+climate%2C+energy%2C+and+water+solutions+by+understanding+how+microbes+interact+with+the+environment+around+them%2C+from+molecules+to+ecosystems.&url=https://www.lbl.gov/research/microbes-to-ecosystems/" link-target="_blank" icon="linkedin" > </lbl-icon-list-item> <lbl-icon-list-item theme="hero" slot="icon-list-item" link-text="Facebook" link-url="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.lbl.gov/research/microbes-to-ecosystems/" link-target="_blank" icon="facebook" > </lbl-icon-list-item> <lbl-icon-list-item theme="hero" slot="icon-list-item" link-text="Email" link-url="mailto:?subject=Microbes+to+Ecosystems&body=Advancing+climate%2C+energy%2C+and+water+solutions+by+understanding+how+microbes+interact+with+the+environment+around+them%2C+from+molecules+to+ecosystems.%0D%0Ahttps://www.lbl.gov/research/microbes-to-ecosystems/" link-target="_blank" icon="email" > </lbl-icon-list-item> </lbl-icon-list> <lbl-pattern slot="pattern" theme="research-hero" > </lbl-pattern> </lbl-hero-basic>  <article id="post-132" class="post-132 page type-page status-publish hentry" aria-label="Microbes to Ecosystems"> <div class="post-content"> <div class="entry-content"> <lbl-intro-callout title="" text="Microbes, the most abundant and diverse form of life on Earth, play a key role in everything from agriculture to water quality and future climate response. Berkeley Lab is performing foundational research to better understand how microbes interact with each other and their environment to find solutions for Earth’s most pressing problems." theme="white" > <lbl-pattern slot="pattern" theme="intro-block" > </lbl-pattern> <lbl-eyebrow has-breakline slot="eyebrow" text="" > </lbl-eyebrow> </lbl-intro-callout> <lbl-divider></lbl-divider> <lbl-container> <lbl-quote-block text="As we study more and more microbiomes, we gain key knowledge that could ultimately be used to manipulate communities for some benefit, such as environmental cleanup, sewage treatment, or improving our health. Other federally funded projects are working toward these goals, and our discovery could be valuable to their work." name="Aindrila Mukhopadhyay" description="Deputy for Science, Biological Systems and Engineering Division" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="276" height="276" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD201104-00394-03-e1658289507353.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-sm size-lbl-components-sm" alt="Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, a dark-haired person wearing a white jacket, poses for a headshot in the lab." slot="media" /> <lbl-pattern slot="pattern" theme="quote-block" > </lbl-pattern> </lbl-quote-block> </lbl-container> <lbl-container> <lbl-section-header title="Our Research Pillars" text="" margin-bottom > </lbl-section-header> <lbl-asymmetrical-columns img-size="normal" layout="grid-list" link-url="" > <h3 slot="asymmetrical-col-left">Soil-plant-microbe interactions</h3> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="" link-target="_self" slot="asymmetrical-col-right" > <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Studying how genomics shape microbial and plant function and microbial communities influence plant growth using various technologies to transform our ability to seamlessly quantify and predict soil-microbe-plant interactions.</p> </lbl-rich-text> </lbl-grid-card> </lbl-asymmetrical-columns> <lbl-asymmetrical-columns img-size="normal" layout="grid-list" link-url="" > <h3 slot="asymmetrical-col-left">Microbiomes or microbial communities</h3> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="" link-target="_self" slot="asymmetrical-col-right" > <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Studying how microbes drive geochemical cycles, environmental dynamics shape microbial communities, and ecosystems affect energy, water and nutrient cycles, and fundamental processes.</p> </lbl-rich-text> </lbl-grid-card> </lbl-asymmetrical-columns> <lbl-asymmetrical-columns img-size="normal" layout="grid-list" link-url="" > <h3 slot="asymmetrical-col-left">Modeling</h3> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="" link-target="_self" slot="asymmetrical-col-right" > <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Gaining insight from large data sets and developing new simulation tools for ecosystem science using high-performance computing and machine learning.</p> </lbl-rich-text> </lbl-grid-card> </lbl-asymmetrical-columns> <lbl-asymmetrical-columns img-size="normal" layout="grid-list" link-url="" > <h3 slot="asymmetrical-col-left">Lab-to-field</h3> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="" link-target="_self" slot="asymmetrical-col-right" > <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Using fabricated ecosystems of different scales to bridge the gap between lab and field research and make ecosystem experiments reproducible.</p> </lbl-rich-text> </lbl-grid-card> </lbl-asymmetrical-columns> </lbl-container> <lbl-divider></lbl-divider> <lbl-container> <lbl-section-header title="Facilities, Centers, Projects, and Partnerships" text="" margin-bottom > </lbl-section-header> <lbl-grid columns="3" layout="grid-card" > <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://bioepic.lbl.gov" link-target="" title="Biological and Environmental Program Integration Center (BioEPIC)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="890" height="890" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_bioepic_photo-essays_overview-1024x1024-1.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Artistic rendering of the exterior of the BioEPIC facility after construction." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>BioEPIC focuses on understanding how microbes interact with soils and plants to influence the environment.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://bioepic.lbl.gov" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://enigma.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies (ENIGMA)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="532" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD201212-01800-11.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Scientist and two students in a bioscience lab with glass bioreactors." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>ENIGMA researchers collaborate to create a predictive model of microbial communities’ effects on critical processes within an ecosystem.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://enigma.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://mcafes.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="Microbial Community Analysis and Functional Evaluation in Soils (m-CAFEs)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD201904-00606-017.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Scientist holding a glass square container with a plant sample." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>A project that aims to understand and control the microscopic organisms that live on plant roots to support sustainable bioenergy.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://mcafes.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="http://Jgi.doe.gov" link-target="_blank" title="Joint Genome Institute" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="890" height="682" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Capabilities-Landing_Grid-Module_JGI_XBD-202007-00117_003.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="A color sculpture of helix DNA in front of a dusk-bathed building." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Advances genomics in support of U.S. Department of Energy missions related to clean energy generation and environmental characterization and cleanup.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="_blank" link-url="http://Jgi.doe.gov" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://www.kbase.us/" link-target="_blank" title="DOE Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="554" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/XBD201905-00745003.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Four people gathered around a computer desk smiling" slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>KBase enables users to analyze, share, and collaborate using data and tools designed to help build increasingly realistic models for biological function.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="_blank" link-url="https://www.kbase.us/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://microbiomedata.org/" link-target="_blank" title="National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="890" height="668" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_biomanufacturing_capabilities-grid-module_NMDC_Eoin-Brodie_1.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Green field in front of blue, cloud-filled sky." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Empowers the research community to harness microbiome data exploration and discovery through a collaborative integrative data science ecosystem.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="_blank" link-url="https://microbiomedata.org/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://fabricatedecosystems.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="Fabricated ecosystems" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="890" height="502" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_fabricated-ecosystems_header_stock-1.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Field at sunset." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Replicate important ecosystem dynamics to streamline microbe study and make research reproducible.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://fabricatedecosystems.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://smartsoils.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="SMART Soils testbed" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD-202104-0045-002.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Scientist makes adjustments on the SmartSoils testbed." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>This testbed will help usher in breakthroughs in our ability to understand and predict soil-microbe-plant interactions and their regulation of ecosystem functioning under changing, real-world conditions from laboratory to testbed to field, and from hours to decades.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://smartsoils.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://ecosense.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="EcoSENSE" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="530" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD-202104-0043-009.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Scientist works in an orange lit laboratory." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Develops and deploys novel sensing tools and associated analytical and telemetry capabilities to quantify interactions between key environmental factors and biological functioning within ecosystems across scales.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://ecosense.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://ecosim.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="EcoSIM" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD201411-01287-01.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Two scientists looking at computer models." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>An advanced simulation framework for the realistic portrayal of plant-soil-microbe interactions across scales. </p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://ecosim.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://ecofab-twins.lbl.gov/" link-target="" title="TWIN Ecosystem Project" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RT_micro_XBD-202011-0154-011.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Gloved hands collect sample from soil." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>Aims to pilot “twin” ecosystems in the laboratory and field that use sensors and autonomous controls to study changes in root secretions during drought stress to see if they select for beneficial microbes.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://ecofab-twins.lbl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://compass.pnnl.gov/" link-target="_blank" title="Coastal Observations, Mechanisms, and Predictions Across Systems and Scales (COMPASS)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="890" height="501" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/RT_clean-affordable-water_COMPASS_shutterstock_560043868.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Birdseye view of green algal bloom." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>As part of this multi-institutional effort, Berkeley Lab scientists are studying and modeling the exchanges of carbon, nutrients, and elements across coastal terrestrial-aquatic interfaces.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="_blank" link-url="https://compass.pnnl.gov/" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> <lbl-grid-card layout="" date="" text="" link-url="https://sites.google.com/lbl.gov/exabiome" link-target="" title="Exascale Solutions for Microbiome Analysis (ExaBiome)" > <lbl-image slot="media" img-caption="" img-credit="" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="890" height="654" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Partner-With-Us_CTA-Module_BLF_XBD202005-00089_024-e1656450052813.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-md size-lbl-components-md" alt="Scientist holding a petri dish." slot="media" /> </lbl-image> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text"> <p>The ExaBiome project aims to provide scalable tools for three core computational problems in metagenomics: metagenome assembly, protein clustering and annotation, and signature-based approaches.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button icon="" slot="btn" text="Visit site" link-target="" link-url="https://sites.google.com/lbl.gov/exabiome" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-grid-card> </lbl-grid> </lbl-container> <lbl-divider></lbl-divider> <lbl-container> <lbl-section-header title="Featured Experts" text="" margin-bottom > </lbl-section-header> <lbl-grid columns="3" layout="profile-card" > <lbl-profile-card title="Romy Chakraborty" sub-title="Department Head" layout="stacked" img-size="" link-target="" link-url="https://profiles.lbl.gov/20463-romy-chakraborty" description="Ecology Department" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="320" height="320" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/RT_micro_profile-grid_Romy_DirectorsAward2019-1-320x320-1.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-sm size-lbl-components-sm" alt="Person with medium-length black hair wearing glasses and a black cardigan over a blue top, photographed against a dark gray background." slot="media" /> <lbl-rich-text slot="text"> <p>Romy Chakraborty is head of the Ecology Department in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area. Chakraborty has pioneered discovery of unique microbes catalyzing key biogeochemical processes in diverse ecosystems to enable translational solutions for improving environmental health and sustainable agriculture.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button link-target="" link-text="" link-url="https://profiles.lbl.gov/20463-romy-chakraborty" slot="go-btn" type="go" > </lbl-button> <lbl-button text="Visit profile" link-target="" link-url="https://profiles.lbl.gov/20463-romy-chakraborty" slot="inline-btn" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-profile-card> <lbl-profile-card title="Eoin Brodie" sub-title="Deputy Director" layout="stacked" img-size="" link-target="" link-url="https://profiles.lbl.gov/19467-eoin-brodie" description="Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="330" height="330" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/XBD-202305-103-003-e1712003615304-330x330.jpeg" class="attachment-lbl-components-sm size-lbl-components-sm" alt="Eoin Brodie, a person with short gray hair wearing a black Patagonia vest over a blue and white checkered collared shirt, photographed outdoors." slot="media" /> <lbl-rich-text slot="text"> <p>Eoin Brodie is the deputy director of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area's Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, using technologies to reverse-engineer complex microbiomes in natural and managed ecosystems. He is also the Laboratory Research Manager of the Watershed Function Science Focus Area, a science co-lead for BioEPIC, and co-directs the Joint Berkeley Initiative for Microbiome Sciences (JBIMS).</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button link-target="" link-text="" link-url="https://profiles.lbl.gov/19467-eoin-brodie" slot="go-btn" type="go" > </lbl-button> <lbl-button text="Visit profile" link-target="" link-url="https://profiles.lbl.gov/19467-eoin-brodie" slot="inline-btn" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-profile-card> <lbl-profile-card title="Jonelle Tamara Basso" sub-title="Research Scientist" layout="stacked" img-size="" link-target="" link-url="https://biosciences.lbl.gov/profiles/jonelle-tamara-basso/" description="Joint Genome Institute" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="330" height="330" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Basso_Headshot-e1711385467397-330x330.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-sm size-lbl-components-sm" alt="Jonelle Basso, a person with long dark braided hair wearing a black blazer over a white printed top." slot="media" /> <lbl-rich-text slot="text"> <p>Jonelle Tamara Basso is a research scientist at the DOE Joint Genome Institute focusing on plant-microbe interactions. Her research investigates the quantitative impact of phage genes on root colonization and the molecular underpinnings of a presumptive plant-bacterial-phage interaction.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button link-target="" link-text="" link-url="https://biosciences.lbl.gov/profiles/jonelle-tamara-basso/" slot="go-btn" type="go" > </lbl-button> <lbl-button text="Visit profile" link-target="" link-url="https://biosciences.lbl.gov/profiles/jonelle-tamara-basso/" slot="inline-btn" type="inline" > </lbl-button> </lbl-profile-card> </lbl-grid> </lbl-content-filter> </lbl-container> <lbl-impact-story title="Scientists Discover First Nitrogen-Fixing Organelle" link-text="Read the article" link-url="https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2024/04/17/scientists-discover-first-nitrogen-fixing-organelle/" link-target="" quote-text="We showed with X-ray imaging that the process of replication and division of the algal host and endosymbiont is synchronized, which provided the first strong evidence." quote-name="Carolyn Larabell, Berkeley Lab Senior Faculty Scientist" > <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1995" height="930" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/LBL_Top_1995x930px_SantaCruz_8bit.png" class="attachment-lbl-components-xl size-lbl-components-xl" alt="Images that show the algae at different stages of cell division. UCYN-A, the nitrogen-fixing entity now considered an organelle, is cyan; the algal nucleus is depicted in blue, mitochondria are green, and chloroplasts are lilac." slot="media-hero" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" src="https://www.lbl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Caroyln_Larabell_square-300x300-1.jpg" class="attachment-lbl-components-sm size-lbl-components-sm" alt="A cropped portrait of Carolyn Larabell, a person with curly shoulder-length brown hair wearing blue glasses and a dark top, smiling." slot="media-quote" /> <lbl-eyebrow slot="byline" text="Our Impact" has-breakline > </lbl-eyebrow> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text" > <p>After years of work, an international team found evidence that a once-independent nitrogen-fixing microbe has become a permanent resident within algae cells. Imaging performed by Berkeley Lab bioscientists was key to the breakthrough.</p> </lbl-rich-text> <lbl-button slot="btn" text="Read the article" link-url="https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2024/04/17/scientists-discover-first-nitrogen-fixing-organelle/" link-target="" type="inline-go" > </lbl-button> </lbl-impact-story> <lbl-container wrapper-size="sm"> <lbl-video caption="" credit="(Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab)" title="Basics2Breakthroughs: Harnessing the Superpowers of Diatoms" schema='{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "VideoObject", "description": "Diatoms do so much for us already – they’re the base of the oceans’ food chains and take up 20% of the planet’s carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. But biologist Setsuko Wakao thinks they’d be great at another job too: acting as tiny sponges to store toxic or useful metals using the molecule structure of their gorgeous shells.", "duration": "", "uploaddate": "", "name": "Basics2Breakthroughs: Harnessing the Superpowers of Diatoms", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Berkeley Lab", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://player.vimeo.com/video/901312812" } }, "thumbnailUrl": "" }' video-src="vimeo" > <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/901312812" title="Basics2Breakthroughs: Harnessing the Superpowers of Diatoms" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen ></iframe> <lbl-rich-text slot="rich-text" > <p>Diatoms do so much for us already – they’re the base of the oceans’ food chains and take up 20% of the planet’s carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. 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