Zymo Research Partners with TeaComposition H2O Project

Nature-based climate change mitigation at the microbial level

News provided by

Feb 06, 2018, 11:08 ET

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Zymo Research Corp. has teamed up with the Blue Carbon Lab, an academic research group at Australia's Deakin University, and colleagues at the Portuguese Centre for Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, on the 'TeaComposition H₂O' project. This is a global initiative that will link litter decomposition with the microbial communities driving the process, uncovering critical information that could inform nature-based climate change mitigation initiatives involving wetlands. This project was born from recent discoveries that marine and freshwater wetlands are among the most efficient carbon-sequestering ecosystems on earth.

Shown above, two scientists working on the TeaComposition H2O initiative, being led by Blue Carbon Lab, that links litter decomposition with microbial communities to obtain critical information on climate change mitigation. Photo courtesy of Simon Fox.

The TeaComposition H₂O initiative, in following suit with the terrestrial sister initiative TeaComposition, was named for the use of a novel scientific approach for measuring carbon decomposition with household tea bags. Specifically, green and red tea bags, manufactured by Lipton^®, are being used as a model for plant litter. Over 350 sites in 35 countries have been selected to track the microbial communities along with the decomposition. More than 19,000 tea bags have been deployed in various coastal and freshwater wetlands as well as streams, ponds, and seaweed ecosystems.

Zymo Research will partner with this global initiative by providing scientific support and tools to study the microbial properties across the multiple testing sites. Specifically, Zymo Research's latest technologies in the field of microbiomics, ZymoBIOMICS® will be at the forefront of this project. The company is donating some of their products to the initiative: DNA/RNA Shield collection devices, ZymoBIOMICS^® Microbial Community Standards, and the ZymoBIOMICS^® DNA Miniprep Kit. In addition, they will provide library preparation, sequencing, and bioinformatics services at a reduced cost.

Ryan Kemp, Director of Nucleic Acid Solutions at Zymo Research, stated, "Our vision is to contribute to the greater good of humanity and that is why we are pleased to collaborate with the TeaComposition H₂O initiative as climate change clearly impacts humanity."

About Zymo Research Corp.
Zymo Research Corp. is a privately held company based in Irvine, California. Since its inception in 1994, it has been serving the academic and biopharmaceutical scientific communities by providing DNA and RNA purification products. Their goal is to help scientists reduce time in the lab by eliminating steps and making the entire DNA/RNA extraction process simpler and faster. In addition to the nucleic acid purification products, Zymo Research also offers genetic, epigenetic and transcriptome analysis services. Zymo Research provides high-quality products that are simple to use yet robust in their performance. For more information, please visit www.zymoresearch.com. Follow Zymo Research Corp. on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Blue Carbon Lab
The Blue Carbon Lab is an academic research group based in Australia at Deakin University's School of Life and Environmental Sciences. They tackle global climate change issues using a multidisciplinary approach from the microscopic microbes to global-scale data modeling.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Zymo Research Corp. trademark, with its design elements including the stylized three-shaded ovals (budding yeast), and the words "The Beauty of Science is to Make Things Simple", ZymoBIOMICS and DNA/RNA Shield are registered trademarks of Zymo Research Corp.

SOURCE Zymo Research Corp.