Peer-reviewed Publications

Our latest findings on biological innovations and metal use across eons.

Coming soon!

Hao W, Chen N, Sun W, Alessi D, Dong H, Stüeken E, Anbar A, Lyons T, Rucker H, Kaçar B, Robbins L, Konhauser K.
Evolution of the molybdenum and vanadium cycles through time and their impact on ancient nitrogen fixation.

Evans G, Matzen S, Odlyzko M, Kaçar B, Anbar AD, Seyfried WE, Toner B.
Differential Behavior of Mo, Cu, and Fe during Laboratory Synthesis of Hydrothermal Plume Particles.

Rucker, H., Bubphamanee, K., Harris, D., Konhauser, K., Seefeldt, L., Buick, R., & Kacar, B. (2025).
Persistent nitrogenase isotope signatures over two billion years of engineered evolution. bioRxiv, 2025-05. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.21.655380

Sobol, M., Ane, C., McMahon, K., & Kacar, B. (2025).
Ecological constraints and evolutionary trade-offs shape nitrogen fixation across habitats. bioRxiv, 2025-05. doi:10.1101/2025.05.20.655134

Klos, A., Sobol, M., Boden, J. S., Stueeken, E. E., Anderson, R. E., Kurt O, K., & Kacar, B. (2025).
Biological molybdenum usage stems back to 3.4 billion years ago. bioRxiv, 2025-04. doi: 10.1101/2025.04.02.646658

2025

Evans, G. N., Krauss, Z., Lilley, M. D., Seyfried Jr, W. E., & Wilcock, W. S. (2025). Tectonically induced changes in vent fluid compositions and metal concentrations at Main Endeavour Field, northeast Pacific Ocean. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 666, 119485. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119485

Charin, S., Evans, G., Chen, X., Xing, Y., Chen, T., Seyfried, W., & Zheng, X. (2025). Experimental constraints on stable potassium (K) isotope fractionation during phase separation in NaCl–KCl–H2O and KCl–H2O systems: implications for the K isotope composition of seafloor hydrothermal vent fluids. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2025.07.014

Buessecker, S., Klos, A. S., Quan, M. E., Finch, A. H., Sobol, M. S., Evans, G. N., Anbar, A.D., Kacar, B., & Dekas, A. E. (2025). Microbial N2O reduction in sulfidic waters: Implications for Proterozoic oceans. bioRxiv, 2025-06. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.28.662143

Cuevas-Zuviría, B., Adam, Z., Cove, D., & Kacar, B. (2025). ChemOrigins: A community curated database for origins of life chemistry. 2025-06. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.10.658922

Cuevas-Zuviría, B., Detemple, F., Amritkar, K., Garcia, A. K., Seefeldt, L. C., Einsle, O., & Kaçar, B. (2025). Nitrogenase structural evolution across Earth’s history. eLife, 14. doi: 10.7554/eLife.105613.1

Fer, E., Yao, T., McGrath, K. M., Goldman, A. D., & Kaçar, B. (2025). The origins and evolution of translation factors. Trends in Genetics. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2025.02.004

Amritkar, K., Cuevas-Zuviría, B., & Kaçar, B. (2025). Evolutionary Dynamics of RuBisCO: Emergence of the Small Subunit and its Impact Through Time. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 42(1), msae268. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msae268

2024

Evans, G. N., Awolayo, A. N., Tutolo, B. M., & Seyfried Jr, W. E. (2024). Geochemical constraints on reaction temperature and pressure and heat-and mass-transfer efficiency at Rainbow Hydrothermal Field. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 648, 119063. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2024.119063

Kaçar, B. (2024). Reconstructing early microbial life. Annual Review of Microbiology, 78. doi: 10.1146/annurev-micro-041522-103400

Evans, G. N., Charin, S., Seyfried Jr, W. E., & Zheng, X. Y. (2024). The role of mafic intrusions in producing Alkaline vent fluids at the Lost city hydrothermal field: Evidence from stable Potassium Isotopes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 386, 84-95. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2024.08.030

Evans, G. N., Ji, S., Kaçar, B., Anbar, A. D., & Seyfried Jr, W. E. (2024). Transition metals in alkaline Lost City vent fluids are sufficient for early-life metabolisms. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 385, 61-73. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2024.08.020

Rico, K. I., Garcia, A. K., Saito, M. A., Kaçar, B., & Anbar, A. D. (2024). Mysteries of metallome evolution: Integrating insights from the Earth and life sciences. In Treatise on Geochemistry, Third Edition, 8 Volume Set (pp. V5-337). Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-99762-1.00143-1

Harris, D. F., Rucker, H. R., Garcia, A. K., Yang, Z. Y., Chang, S. D., Feinsilber, H., ... & Seefeldt, L. C. (2024). Ancient nitrogenases are ATP dependent. Mbio, 15(7), e01271-24. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01271-24

Cuevas-Zuviría, B., Garcia, A. K., Rivier, A. J., Rucker, H. R., Carruthers, B. M., & Kaçar, B. (2024). Emergence of an orphan nitrogenase protein following atmospheric oxygenation. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 41(4), msae067. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msae067

Russell, S. J., Garcia, A. K., & Kaçar, B. (2024). A CRISPR interference system for engineering biological nitrogen fixation. Msystems, 9(3), e00155-24. doi: 10.1128/msystems.00155-24

Zhang, Y., Tutt, F., Evans, G. N., Sharma, P., Haugstad, G., Kaiser, B., ... & Leighton, C. (2024). Crystal-chemical origins of the ultrahigh conductivity of metallic delafossites. Nature communications, 15(1), 1399. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45239-6

McGrath, K. M., Russell, S. J., Fer, E., Garmendia, E., Hosgel, A., Baltrus, D. A., & Kaçar, B. (2024). Fitness benefits of a synonymous substitution in an ancient EF-Tu gene depend on the genetic background. Journal of Bacteriology, 206(2), e00329-23. doi: 10.1128/jb.00329-23

Rucker, H. R., & Kaçar, B. (2024). Enigmatic evolution of microbial nitrogen fixation: insights from Earth’s past. Trends in Microbiology, 32(6), 554-564. Trends in Microbiology. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.03.011

2023

Marshall, B., Amritkar, K., Wolfe, M., Kaçar, B., & Landick, R. (2023). Evolutionary flexibility and rigidity in the bacterial methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14, 1286626. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1286626

Peng, Z., Adam, Z. R., Fahrenbach, A. C., & Kaçar, B. (2023). Assessment of stoichiometric autocatalysis across element groups. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 145(41), 22483-22493. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c07041

Cuevas-Zuviría, B., Fer, E., Adam, Z. R., & Kaçar, B. (2023). The modular biochemical reaction network structure of cellular translation. npj Systems Biology and Applications, 9(1), 52. doi: 10.1038/s41540-023-00315-3

Rivier, A. J., Myers, K. S., Garcia, A. K., Sobol, M. S., & Kaçar, B. (2023). Regulatory response to a hybrid ancestral nitrogenase in Azotobacter vinelandii. Microbiology Spectrum, 11(5), e02815-23. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02815-23

Cuevas-Zuviría, B., Adam, Z. R., Goldman, A. D., & Kaçar, B. (2023). Informatic capabilities of translation and its implications for the origins of life. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 91(5), 567-569. doi: 10.1007/s00239-023-10125-0

Goldman, A. D., & Kaçar, B. (2023). Very early evolution from the perspective of microbial ecology. Environmental Microbiology, 25(1), 5-10. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.16144

Garcia, A. K., Kędzior, M., Taton, A., Li, M., Young, J. N., & Kaçar, B. (2023). Effects of RuBisCO and CO2 concentration on cyanobacterial growth and carbon isotope fractionation. Geobiology, 21(3), 390-403. doi: 10.1111/gbi.12543

Garcia, A. K., Harris, D. F., Rivier, A. J., Carruthers, B. M., Pinochet-Barros, A., Seefeldt, L. C., & Kaçar, B. (2023). Nitrogenase resurrection and the evolution of a singular enzymatic mechanism. Elife, 12, e85003. doi: 10.7554/eLife.85003

Evans, G. N., Seyfried Jr, W. E., & Tan, C. (2023). Nutrient transition metals in a time series of hydrothermal vent fluids from Main Endeavour Field, Juan de Fuca Ridge, Pacific Ocean. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 602, 117943. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117943

2022

Kędzior, M., Garcia, A. K., Li, M., Taton, A., Adam, Z. R., Young, J. N., & Kaçar, B. (2022). Resurrected Rubisco suggests uniform carbon isotope signatures over geologic time. Cell reports, 39(4). doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110726

Schwartz, S. L., Garcia, A. K., Kaçar, B., & Fournier, G. P. (2022). Early nitrogenase ancestors encompassed novel active site diversity. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39(11), msac226. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msac226

Seyfried Jr, W. E., Tan, C., Wang, X., Wu, S., Evans, G. N., Coogan, L. A., ... & Lilley, M. D. (2022). Time series of hydrothermal vent fluid chemistry at Main Endeavour Field, Juan de Fuca Ridge: Remote sampling using the NEPTUNE cabled observatory. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 186, 103809. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103809

Fer, E., McGrath, K. M., Guy, L., Hockenberry, A. J., & Kaçar, B. (2022). Early divergence of translation initiation and elongation factors. Protein Science, 31(9), e4393. doi: 10.1002/pro.4393

Sephus, C. D., Fer, E., Garcia, A. K., Adam, Z. R., Schwieterman, E. W., & Kacar, B. (2022). Earliest photic zone niches probed by ancestral microbial rhodopsins. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 39(5), msac100. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msac100

Garcia, A. K., Kolaczkowski, B., & Kaçar, B. (2022). Reconstruction of nitrogenase predecessors suggests origin from maturase-like proteins. Genome Biology and Evolution, 14(3), evac031. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evac031

Garcia, A. K., Fer, E., Sephus, C., & Kacar, B. (2022). An integrated method to reconstruct ancient proteins. In Environmental Microbial Evolution: Methods and Protocols (pp. 267-281). New York, NY: Springer US. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2691-7_13

2021

Garcia, A. K., Cavanaugh, C. M., & Kacar, B. (2021). The curious consistency of carbon biosignatures over billions of years of Earth-life coevolution. The ISME Journal, 15(8), 2183-2194. doi: 10.1038/s41396-021-00971-5

Goldman, A. D., & Kacar, B. (2021). Cofactors are remnants of life’s origin and early evolution. Journal of molecular evolution, 89(3), 127-133. doi: 10.1007/s00239-020-09988-4

Lambrecht N., Stevenson Z., Sheik C. S., Pronschinske M. A., Tong H., and Swanner E. D. (2021). Candidatus Chlorobium masyuteum,” a Novel Photoferrotrophic Green Sulfur Bacterium Enriched From a Ferruginous Meromictic Lake. Front. Microbiol. 12:695260. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.695260

Kaçar, B., Anbar, A. D., Garcia, A. K., Seefeldt, L. C., & Konhauser, K. O. (2021). Between a Rock and a Living Place: Natural Selection of Elements and the Search for Life in the Universe. Bulletin of the AAS, 53(4). https://doi.org/10.3847/25c2cfeb.8073c38a

Amanda K. Garcia, Bryan Kolaczkowski, Betül Kaçar. (2021). Reconstruction of nitrogenase predecessors suggests origin from maturase-like enzymes. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.07.451390

Kacar B., Garcia A.K., Anbar A. (2021). Evolutionary History of Bioessential Elements Can Guide the Search for Life in the Universe ChemBioChem.