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Project Reports

• Isotopic and Molecular Approaches to Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry (The Evolution of Organic Matter)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Biogeochemistry of the Early Earth

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 3.1 4.1 4.3 5.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.2

• Benner – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.2

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – K. Freeman

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 5.2 6.1 7.1

• Evolution in Microbe-Based Ecosystems: Desert Springs as Analogues for the Early Development and Stabilization of Ecological Systems

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1

• Molecular Survey of Microbial Diversity in Hypersaline Ecosystems, Ecogenomics

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Eukaryotic Origins and the Evolution of Cellular Complexity – Eukaryotic rRNA Evolution: Early Diverging Eukaryotes

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3

• Genomic Evolution and the Tree of Life

  Horizontal gene transfer greatly accelerates genome evolution and Innovation. We are comparing the genomes of eight prokaryotes and related horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to environmental and genomic properties of the organisms and their habitats.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3

• Ecological Genomics

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Early Microbial Ecosystems

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Micro*scope (http://www.mbl.edu/microscope) – A Web-Based Tool for Microbial Diversity Research

  micro*scope (http://www.mbl.edu/microscope) is an innovative biodiversity bioinformatics web site that greatly improves access to information about microbes

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 5.2 6.1 6.2

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – Ohmoto

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 4.1 4.3 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Mineralogical Biosignatures

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 6.1 7.1

• Organic Molecules as Biosignatures

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1

• Genes That Regulate Photosymbiotic Interactions

  We are interested in identifying genes that may impart symbiotic competence to the dinoflagellate symbionts of planktonic protists (foraminifera and radiolaria).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.2

• Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Tetinction of Metazoans: Neoproterozoic Variations – Arthur

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Diversity and Physiology of Prokaryotes in Selected Thermophilic and Mesophilic Environments That Might Resemble Early Earth’s Biosphere

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3

• Microbial Symbionts: Agents for Reorganizing Genome Architectures.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.2 6.2

• Symbiosis and the Origin of Multicellularity in Photosynthetic Organisms

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.2 6.1

• Enzymes of Ancient Metabolic Pathways

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2

• Isolation of Psychrophilic Microorganisms

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.4 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2

• Microbial Mat Communities

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Geopulse

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.2

• A Timescale for the Evolution of Life on Earth – Hedges

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 2.1 3.4 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.2 5.3 7.1 7.2

• A Timescale for the Evolution of Life on Earth – Nei

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.2 2.1 3.4 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.2 5.3 7.1 7.2

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – Kump

  Ellen Herman (MS Student) has received some support from the Pennsylvania State Astrobiology Research Center (PSARC) to develop a numerical model of the microbial mat

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.2 6.1