Jennifer Doudna and co-authors publish new microbe research

Photo: Worker planting rice. (Adobe Stock)

Professors Jill Banfield (earth and planetary science) and Jennifer Doudna (Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Professor of Biomedical Science and chemistry) along with a series of co-authors have published new research that takes a major step toward solving the thorny problem of how to study and alter genomes of microbes living in complicated real-world environments. The complexity of microbial communities has been a major obstacle to discovering technologies that can prevent diseases and improve agriculture. It could prove to be a critical step toward curbing methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that is emitted during rice production, the world’s second most important cereal crop.