{"661672":{"#nid":"661672","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Joel Kostka Awarded $3.2 Million to Keep Digging into How Soils and Plants Capture Carbon \u2014 And Keep It Out of Earth\u2019s Atmosphere","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka\u0022\u003EJoel Kostka\u003C\/a\u003E will soon receive $3.2 million from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/\u0022\u003EDepartment of Energy (DOE)\u003C\/a\u003E to build upon research that has ranged from northern Minnesota peat bogs to coastal Georgia wetlands, all to learn how climate change impacts soils and plants that trap greenhouse gasses \u0026mdash; and whether some of those plants could end up as eco-friendly biofuels.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/joel-kostka\u0022\u003EKostka\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor and associate chair of research in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E with a joint appointment in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, will receive funding as part of a wider \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/articles\/doe-announces-178-million-advance-bioenergy-technology\u0022\u003E$178 million dollar DOE effort\u003C\/a\u003E to advance sustainable technology breakthroughs that can improve public health, help address climate change, improve food and agricultural production, and create more resilient supply chains. The 37 new projects also include efforts to engineer plants and microbes into bioenergy and improve carbon storage.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKostka\u0026rsquo;s wetlands research will continue in the salt marshes off Georgia\u0026rsquo;s coast, where his team has already conducted \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/salt-marsh-grass-georgias-coast-gets-nutrients-growth-helpful-bacteria-its-roots\u0022\u003Estudies\u003C\/a\u003E on the microbial life that benefits \u003Cem\u003ESpartina\u003C\/em\u003E cordgrass in those areas, helping to strengthen resilience of the plant to sea level rise and catastrophic storms.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe DOE\u0026rsquo;s funding initiative is split into four groups. Kostka\u0026rsquo;s studies will focus on the role of microbiomes \u0026mdash; all the microorganisms living in a particular environment \u0026mdash; in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in terrestrial soils and wetlands by using genomics-based and systems biology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOther research areas involve renewable bioenergy and biomaterials production; quantum-enabled bioimaging and sensing for bioenergy, and research to characterize gene function in bioenergy crop plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Our project seeks to understand the controls of soil organic matter degradation and the release of greenhouse gasses, both of which are largely mediated by microbes\u0026rdquo; Kostka said. \u0026ldquo;And then also, as we\u0026#39;ve been studying for many years now, how climate drivers \u0026mdash; principally the warming of ecosystems and carbon dioxide enrichment in the atmosphere \u0026mdash; limit greenhouse gas release to the atmosphere. How might changes in plant and microbial communities lead to climate feedbacks, thereby accelerating the release of greenhouse gasses from soil carbon stores?\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThat question has driven much of Kostka\u0026rsquo;s research team in the past as they focused on how soil microbes break down biomasses like woody plants and peat mosses, at an \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ornl.gov\/\u0022\u003EOak Ridge National Laboratory\u003C\/a\u003E facility in northern Minnesota called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mnspruce.ornl.gov\/\u0022\u003ESpruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE)\u003C\/a\u003E. Kostka\u0026rsquo;s team is using genomics to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/temperate-glimpse-warming-world\u0022\u003Estudy\u003C\/a\u003E all the genes that code for microbial enzymes that decompose biomass in soil and how plants, which are also changing with climate, impact microbiomes by providing carbon sources that fuel microbial activities. In particular, the work is focused on lignocellulose or lignin, which gives plants their rigidity or structure and arguably comprises the most abundant renewable carbon source on the planet.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We\u0026#39;re just at the point now where we finally have the tools to unlock the black box of soil microbiology and chemistry,\u0026rdquo; Kostka said. \u0026ldquo;Recent advances in sophisticated analytical chemistry methods used to quantify microbial metabolites along with improved metagenome sequencing approaches enable us to better uncover metabolic pathways.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKostka will serve as principal investigator of the research team for the grant. That team includes School of Biological Sciences researchers \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Caitlin-Petro\u0022\u003ECaitlin Petro\u003C\/a\u003E, research scientist, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/microdynamics.gatech.edu\/katherine-duchesneau-november-2021\u0022\u003EKatherine Duchesneau\u003C\/a\u003E, a third-year Ph.D. student; co-principal investigator \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/kostas-t-konstantinidis\u0022\u003EKostas Konstantinidis\u003C\/a\u003E, Richard C. Tucker Professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Rachel-Wilson-24\u0022\u003ERachel Wilson\u003C\/a\u003E, research scientist, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.fsu.edu\/\u0022\u003EFlorida State University\u003C\/a\u003E; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/environmentalscience.cals.arizona.edu\/person\/malak-tfaily\u0022\u003EMalak Tfaily\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.arizona.edu\/admissions?utm_source=google\u0026amp;utm_medium=cpc\u0026amp;utm_term=university%20of%20arizona\u0026amp;utm_campaign=brand_us_search\u0026amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwsrWZBhC4ARIsAGGUJup3f5BvUVgRulXVHdA1rOkV5SIJvGvouA_q6z1htik6BXQwP2euFNwaAoqlEALw_wcB\u0022\u003EUniversity of Arizona\u003C\/a\u003E; and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ornl.gov\/staff-profile\/christopher-w-schadt\u0022\u003EChris Schadt\u003C\/a\u003E, senior staff scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EUnlocking the \u0026ldquo;enzyme latch\u0026rdquo; hypothesis\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs part of his new research, Kostka will revisit what scientists call the \u0026ldquo;enzyme latch\u0026rdquo; hypothesis. This could help uncover the mechanisms by which soils and plants capture harmful greenhouse gasses, and what prompts their release into the atmosphere.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe idea behind this hypothesis is that when soils are wet, they lack oxygen, which suppresses a specific class of enzymes, oxidases, that catalyze the beginning steps in the microbial breakdown of organic compounds produced by plants in soil. When oxidases are suppressed, the breakdown products of lignin, phenolic compounds, accumulate and poison the rest of the microbial carbon cycle.\u0026nbsp; Thus a single class of enzymes may be responsible for keeping greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane captured within the soil.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The climate linkage here is that it\u0026#39;s thought that as the climate warms, we\u0026#39;ll get more greenhouse gas production, because simply it\u0026#39;ll be warmer, and microbial enzymes work faster at higher temperature. But then also, in wetlands in particular, the hypothesis is that as wetlands warm, they\u0026#39;re going to dry out. And so when a wetland dries out, you\u0026#39;re going to get more injection of oxygen-rich air into the soil, which would then accelerate the breakdown of organic matter.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen that happens, it could also mean different plants having an impact on carbon storage and the breakdown of biomass. \u0026ldquo;As wetlands dry out, plant communities in northern peatlands where most of Earth\u0026rsquo;s soil carbon is stored, are expected to shift from a dominance of mosses, which do better when it\u0026#39;s wet \u0026mdash; to woody plants, shrubs, and trees that do better with less water, when it\u0026#39;s drier. That would in turn potentially spark the release of more reactive carbon compounds from plant roots \u0026mdash; mosses don\u0026rsquo;t have roots \u0026mdash; which would likely accelerate organic matter decomposition and the production of more greenhouse gas in a feedback loop with climate.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKostka\u0026rsquo;s research may also help to develop new approaches for converting woody biomass into potential alternative energy sources. \u0026ldquo;To make our society more sustainable, we have to basically recycle everything, or reuse as much as we can. And that includes the biomass from plants that can be grown on more arid lands that are less suitable for food crops,\u0026rdquo; he said, referring to plant-based materials that can be used to produce biofuels and bioenergy. \u0026ldquo;And so the DOE is leading research efforts to understand the controls of biomass degradation in plants such as switchgrass and poplar.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKostka and Konstantinidis will develop a database of genes that code for the breakdown of lignocellulose and lignin, compounds that largely make up plant biomass and for which metabolic pathways of degradation have been elusive. Kostka and his colleagues will also have access to the extensive resources of the DOE Genomic Sciences program, including a collaboration with the agency\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/jgi.doe.gov\/\u0022\u003EJoint Genome Institute\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We hope that information generated from our project can be used to improve methods for breaking down woody biomass so that it can be used in a sustainable way to produce biofuels,\u0026rdquo; Kostka said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pamspublic.science.energy.gov\/WebPAMSExternal\/Interface\/Common\/ViewPublicAbstract.aspx?rv=ce74057a-efb9-4824-98c1-138ac76643a3\u0026amp;rtc=24\u0022\u003EPublic abstract of Department of Energy grant DE-SC0023297\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"School of Biological Sciences Professor Joel Kostka\u2019s decade of research in Minnesota peatlands has received a boost from a new Department of Energy grant, set to explore how science can address climate change with emphasis on carbon storage."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences Professor Joel Kostka\u0026rsquo;s decade of research in Minnesota peatlands has received a boost from a new Department of Energy grant, set to explore how science can address climate change with emphasis on the breakdown of lignin, plant-derived compounds that store much of Earth\u0026rsquo;s soil carbon, and may be used as sustainable energy sources\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"School of Biological Sciences Professor Joel Kostka\u2019s decade of research in Minnesota peatlands has received a boost from a new Department of Energy grant, set to explore how science can address climate change with emphasis on carbon storage."}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2022-09-29 17:38:53","changed_gmt":"2023-03-02 20:01:11","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"661683":{"id":"661683","type":"image","title":"A research enclosure at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory\u0027s SPRUCE facility in northern Minnesota. (Photo Joel Kostka)","body":null,"created":"1664480926","gmt_created":"2022-09-29 19:48:46","changed":"1664480926","gmt_changed":"2022-09-29 19:48:46","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250630","name":"SPRUCE enclosure.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SPRUCE%20enclosure.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SPRUCE%20enclosure.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":958014,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SPRUCE%20enclosure.jpeg?itok=7CC463kc"}},"661682":{"id":"661682","type":"image","title":"Joel Kostka takes soil samples at the SPRUCE facility in Minnesota. ","body":null,"created":"1664480465","gmt_created":"2022-09-29 19:41:05","changed":"1664480744","gmt_changed":"2022-09-29 19:45:44","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250629","name":"Kostka coring 2 - Edited.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kostka%20coring%202%20-%20Edited.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kostka%20coring%202%20-%20Edited.png","mime":"image\/png","size":3230586,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Kostka%20coring%202%20-%20Edited.png?itok=pcNf4brn"}},"661685":{"id":"661685","type":"image","title":"A soil core sample from the SPRUCE facility. (Photo Joel Kostka)","body":null,"created":"1664481583","gmt_created":"2022-09-29 19:59:43","changed":"1664481583","gmt_changed":"2022-09-29 19:59:43","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250631","name":"Coring sample.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Coring%20sample.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Coring%20sample.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1167232,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Coring%20sample.jpeg?itok=O7DdLGor"}},"661686":{"id":"661686","type":"image","title":"The entrance to Marcell Experimental Forest, part of the SPRUCE facility shared by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the U.S. Forest Service. (Photo Joel Kostka)","body":null,"created":"1664482302","gmt_created":"2022-09-29 20:11:42","changed":"1664482302","gmt_changed":"2022-09-29 20:11:42","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250633","name":"Marcell Experimental Forest - Edited.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Marcell%20Experimental%20Forest%20-%20Edited.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Marcell%20Experimental%20Forest%20-%20Edited.png","mime":"image\/png","size":3275626,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Marcell%20Experimental%20Forest%20-%20Edited.png?itok=lpgwYiOM"}},"661706":{"id":"661706","type":"image","title":"Plants in the SPRUCE experimental area are dominated by peat mosses of the genus Sphagnum, which is an ecosystem engineer that produces much of the degrading biomass or \u201cpeat\u201d in soils of northern peatlands. (Photo Joel Kostka)","body":null,"created":"1664548370","gmt_created":"2022-09-30 14:32:50","changed":"1664548370","gmt_changed":"2022-09-30 14:32:50","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250641","name":"Watery peat.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Watery%20peat.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Watery%20peat.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1442187,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Watery%20peat.jpeg?itok=_SZb2OXy"}},"661707":{"id":"661707","type":"image","title":"Ph.D. student Tianze Song from the School of Biological Sciences prepares soil samples for metagenomics investigations during the annual soil core collection of the SPRUCE experiment. (Photo Joel Kostka)","body":null,"created":"1664548595","gmt_created":"2022-09-30 14:36:35","changed":"1664548595","gmt_changed":"2022-09-30 14:36:35","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250642","name":"Researcher bagging samples.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Researcher%20bagging%20samples.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Researcher%20bagging%20samples.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1237746,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Researcher%20bagging%20samples.jpeg?itok=guvoZUhN"}},"661810":{"id":"661810","type":"image","title":"The Kostka Lab research group.","body":null,"created":"1664897950","gmt_created":"2022-10-04 15:39:10","changed":"1664897950","gmt_changed":"2022-10-04 15:39:10","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250684","name":"Kostka Lab lineup.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kostka%20Lab%20lineup.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Kostka%20Lab%20lineup.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3072702,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Kostka%20Lab%20lineup.JPG?itok=3SAIoNrr"}}},"media_ids":["661683","661682","661685","661686","661706","661707","661810"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/salt-marsh-grass-georgias-coast-gets-nutrients-growth-helpful-bacteria-its-roots","title":"Salt Marsh Grass On Georgia\u2019s Coast Gets Nutrients for Growth From Helpful Bacteria in Its Roots"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/temperate-glimpse-warming-world","title":"Temperate Glimpse Into a Warming World"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/science-matters\/sciencematters-season-3-episode-8-digging-climate-clues-peat-moss","title":"ScienceMatters - Season 3, Episode 8 - Digging Up Climate Clues in Peat Moss"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/microbial-research-may-be-key-salt-marsh-restoration","title":"Microbial Research may be the Key to Salt Marsh Restoration"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/getting-root-plant-soil-interactions-optical-instrument-give-clearest-3d-images-yet-rhizosphere","title":"Getting to the Root of Plant-Soil Interactions: Optical Instrument to Give Clearest 3D Images Yet of Rhizosphere"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/deepwater-horizon-and-rise-omics-decade-breakthroughs-microbial-science","title":"Deepwater Horizon and the Rise of the Omics: A Decade of Breakthroughs in Microbial Science"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/cmdi-mighty-microbial-dynamics-healthier-people-and-planet","title":"CMDI: Mighty Microbial Dynamics for a Healthier People and Planet"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"20131","name":"Joel Kostka"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"},{"id":"139331","name":"greenhouse gasses"},{"id":"191346","name":"greenhouse gas capture"},{"id":"172961","name":"soil carbon"},{"id":"1702","name":"carbon capture"},{"id":"3023","name":"biomass"},{"id":"191347","name":"sustainable fuels"},{"id":"2342","name":"biofuels"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: Renay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEditor: Jess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}