2002 Annual Science Report
Astrobiology Roadmap Objective 4.0 Reports Reporting | JUL 2001 – JUN 2002
Roadmap Objective 4.0—Expand and interpret the genomic database of a select group of key microorganisms in order to reveal the history and dynamics of evolution.
Project Reports
-
Bacterial Adaptation to Low Temperatures
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0 16.0 -
Benner – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 16.0 17.0 -
Eukaryotic Origins and the Evolution of Cellular Complexity – Eukaryotic rRNA Evolution: Early Diverging Eukaryotes
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 7.0 -
Ellington – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 3.0 4.0 8.0 9.0 16.0 -
Eukaryotic rRNA Evolution: Origins of “Crown Group Taxa”.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 -
The Planetary Context of Biological Evolution: Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Environmental Change and Evolution
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 8.0 12.0 14.0 -
Lateral Gene Transfer and Parallel Evolution in the History of Glutathione Biosynthesis Genes
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 -
Genomic and Proteomic Analysis of Permafrost Bacteria
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 7.0 15.0 16.0 -
Origin and Early Evolution of Photosynthesis
Work on the origin and early evolution of photosynthesis is carried out by a highly interdisciplinary team of scientists from several different institutions. The overall theme is understanding the origin and early evolution of photosynthesis and its effect on the biosphere. This year four main aspects have been emphasized: (1) whole genome comparative analyses of photosynthetic organisms, (2) the search for phototrophs in non-solar environments around hydrothermal vents, (3) field and laboratory studies of photosynthetic organisms in thermophilic and iron-rich environments and (4) Biochemical analysis of primitive phototrophic organisms. Each of these projects has seen significant progress, as described below.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 -
Diversity of Eukaryotes in Thermophilic and Mesophilic Environments That Might Resemble Early Earth’s Biosphere
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0 -
Symbiosis and the Origin of Multicellularity in Photosynthetic Organisms
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 10.0 -
Diversity and Physiology of Prokaryotes in Selected Thermophilic and Mesophilic Environments That Might Resemble Early Earth’s Biosphere
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0 -
Genomic Evolution and the Tree of Life
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 12.0 -
Evolution of Biocomplexity From an Ancient Autotrophic Lineage
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 -
Genes That Regulate Photosymbiotic Interactions
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 -
Evogenomics (Collaborative Focus Group Research)
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 -
Molecular Analysis of Microbial Ecosystems in Extreme Enviornments
Projects continue to revolve around the development and use of ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) based molecular methods to survey and study the microbial constituents of ecosystems in extreme environments without the requirement for cultivation of the organisms.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 10.0 -
Relationship of Genetic Changes to Phenotypic Changes in Organism — Environment Interactions
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0 -
Evolution in Microbe-Based Ecosystems: Desert Springs as Analogues for the Early Development and Stabilization of Ecological Systems
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 14.0 -
Co-Evolution of Life and Planets
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 17.0 -
Microbial Symbionts:agents for Reorganizing Genome Architectures.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 5.0 -
The Effect of Reducing Gravity on Caenorhabditis Elegans
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 7.0 10.0 16.0 -
Evolution of Early Genes and Proteins
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 3.0 4.0 -
Biochemistry of Archaea and Bacteria: Enzymes of Ancient Metabolic Pathways
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 -
Microbial Mat Communities
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0 -
GEOPULSE (Gene Expression of Observations for Planetary Life Study)
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0 -
Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell: Implications From Bacterial Tubulin in the Division Verrucomicrobia
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 -
Timescale for the Evolution of Life on Earth: Molecular Evolutionary Approach – Masatoshi Nei
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 -
(S. Blair Hedges) Timescale for the Evolution of Life on Earth: Molecular Evolutionary Approach
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 5.0 7.0 8.0 11.0 12.0 14.0