J. DiRuggiero

Adaptation of cyanobacteria to the endolithic light spectrum in hyper-arid deserts

This study shows endolithic cyanobacteria from hyper-arid deserts adapt to far-red light by synthesizing chlorophyll f and remodeling their photosynthetic apparatus.

Adaptations of endolithic communities to abrupt environmental changes in a hyper-arid desert

The paper studies microbial community adaptations in halite nodules transplanted to different sites in the Atacama Desert, finding that salt-in strategists dominate in extreme dryness.

Draft metagenomes of endolithic cyanobacteria and co-habitants from hyper-arid deserts

The paper presents high-quality metagenome assembled genomes of endolithic cyanobacteria and their heterotrophic companions from hyper-arid deserts.

Post-transcriptional regulation of redox homeostasis by the small RNA SHOxi in haloarchaea

This study identifies SHOxi, an sRNA in Haloferax volcanii, which regulates redox homeostasis by destabilizing malic enzyme mRNA during oxidative stress.

Cellular life from the three domains and viruses are transcriptionally active in a hypersaline desert community

The paper investigates transcriptional activity in a hypersaline desert microbiome, revealing eukaryotes as primary producers and identifying active halophilic viruses.

Regulatory non-coding small RNAs are diverse and abundant in an extremophilic microbial community

The paper identifies diverse and abundant regulatory small RNAs in an extremophilic microbial community using metatranscriptomic analysis and a new sRNA annotation pipeline.

Trophic Selective Pressures Organize the Composition of Endolithic Microbial Communities from Global Deserts

This study identifies macroclimate as the primary driver of endolithic microbial community composition, with differences between hot and polar deserts, and shows phototrophs and heterotrophs assemble under distinct ecological influences.

Halophilic microbial community compositional shift after a rare rainfall in the Atacama Desert

The paper studies microbial community shifts in the Atacama Desert after a rare rainfall, identifying two modes of response: a rapid Type 1 shift and a gradual Type 2 adjustment.

MetaWRAP - a flexible pipeline for genome-resolved metagenomic data analysis

MetaWRAP is a modular pipeline for metagenomic data analysis that improves bin extraction and provides tools for bin analysis.

Transcriptional landscape and regulatory roles of small non-coding RNAs in the oxidative stress response of the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii

This study identifies sRNAs regulating oxidative stress response in Haloferax volcanii, showing their negative regulatory role on mRNA targets.

Fine scale diversification of endolithic microbial communities in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert

The paper analyzes endolithic microbial communities in the Atacama Desert, finding they are highly substrate-specific and driven by rock architecture and water retention rather than overall chemistry.