Some of our recent research papers!

Klos, A.S., Sobol, M.S., Boden, J.S. et al. Biological use of molybdenum and tungsten stems back to 3.4 billion years ago. Nat Commun 17, 3943 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72133-0 PDF

Fer, E., Banerjee, R., Hagino, K., McGrath, K., Kaçar, B. (2026). Evolution of Translation Initiation Factor 2 Extensions Links Initiation to Bacterial Stress Response. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.08.704698

Robbins, L.J., Mughal, S., Mahmoudi, N., Mills, D.B., Rucker, H.R., Stüeken, E.E., Anbar, A.D., Knoll, A.H., Kaçar, B. and Konhauser, K.O. (2026). Revisiting the Bio-Inorganic Bridge 25 Years Later. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 54. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040523-125151 PDF

Goldman, A., Fournier, G., & Kaçar, B. (2026). Universal paralogs provide a window into evolution before the last universal common ancestor. Cell Genomics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xgen.2026.101140 PDF

Rucker, H., Bubphamanee, K., Harris, D. F., Konhauser, K., Seefeldt, L. C., Buick, R., & Kaçar, B. (2026). Resurrected nitrogenases recapitulate canonical N-isotope biosignatures over two billion years. Nat Commun 17, 616. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67423-y PDF

Sobol, M. S., Klos, A. S., Ané, C., McMahon, K. D., & Kaçar, B. (2026). Ecological constraints and evolutionary trade-offs shape nitrogen fixation across habitats. ISME Communications, ycag007. https://doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycag007

Cuevas-Zuviria, B., Adam, Z., Cove, D., & Kaçar, B.(2025). ChemOrigins: a community-curated database for origins-of-life chemistry. Interface Focus, 15 (5): 20250034. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2025.0034 PDF

Puente-Lelievre, C., Ridone, P., Douglas, J., Amritkar, K., Kaçar, B., Baker, M. A., & Matzke, N. J. (2025). Evolution and structural diversity of the MotAB stator: insights into the origins of bacterial flagellar motility. mBio, 16(10), e03824-24. https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mbio.03824-24 PDF

Kaçar, B. (2025). Planetary microbiology: microbes, planets, and the search for life. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, e00241-25. https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/aem.00241-25 PDF

Cuevas-Zuviría, B., Adam, Z., Sephus C., Cove, D., & Kaçar, B. (2025). Agnostic Tools for Life Detection: A Multiscale Approach to Biological and Chemical Reaction Networks. bioRxiv, 2025-08. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.13.670162v1 PDF

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. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.28.662143v1 PDF

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. https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/105613 PDF

Fer, E., Yao, T., McGrath, K. M., Goldman, A. D., & Kaçar, B. (2025). The origins and evolution of translation factors. Trends in Genetics. https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/fulltext/S0168-9525(25)00045-9 PDF

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. https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/42/1/msae268/7934943 PDF

Kaçar, B. (2024). Reconstructing early microbial life. Annual Review of Microbiology, 78. https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-micro-041522-103400 PDF

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. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016703724004241 PDF

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. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323997621001431?via%3Dihub PDF

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. https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/mbio.01271-24 PDF

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. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msae067 PDF

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

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. https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/jb.00329-23 PDF

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. https://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/fulltext/S0966-842X(23)00091-4 PDF

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. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1286626/full PDF

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. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.3c07041 PDF

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. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41540-023-00315-3 PDF

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. https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/spectrum.02815-23 PDF

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. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00239-023-10125-0 PDF

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

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. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gbi.12543 PDF

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. https://elifesciences.org/articles/85003 PDF

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). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124722004879 PDF

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. https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/11/msac226/6763667 PDF

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. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pro.4393 PDF

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. https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/5/msac100/6582242 PDF

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. https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/14/3/evac031/6531971 PDF

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. https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007/978-1-0716-2691-7_13 PDF

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. https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/15/8/2183/7474499 PDF

Goldman, A. D., & Kacar, B. (2021). Cofactors are remnants of life’s origin and early evolution. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 89(3), 127-133. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/S00239-020-09988-4 PDF

Venkataram, S., Monasky, R., Sikaroodi, S. H., Kryazhimskiy, S., & Kacar, B. (2020). Evolutionary stalling and a limit on the power of natural selection to improve a cellular module. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(31), 18582-18590. https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1921881117 PDF

Garcia, A. K., McShea, H., Kolaczkowski, B., & Kaçar, B. (2020). Reconstructing the evolutionary history of nitrogenases: Evidence for ancestral molybdenum‐cofactor utilization. Geobiology, 18(3), 394-411. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gbi.12381 PDF

Kacar, B., Garcia, A. K., & Anbar, A. D. (2021). Evolutionary history of bioessential elements can guide the search for life in the universe. ChemBioChem, 22(1), 114-119. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202000500 PDF

Liberles, D. A., Chang, B., Geiler-Samerotte, K., Goldman, A., Hey, J., Kaçar, B., ... & Storfer, A. (2020). Emerging frontiers in the study of molecular evolution. Journal of molecular evolution, 88, 211-226. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00239-020-09932-6 PDF

Garcia, A. K., & Kaçar, B. (2019). How to resurrect ancestral proteins as proxies for ancient biogeochemistry. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 140, 260-269. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891584918315831 PDF

Ginsberg, A. D., Chieza, N., Kaçar, B., Womack, Y., & Vilutis, J. (2018). Future shaped by pasts that could have been. Journal of Design and Science. https://doi.org/10.21428/5e41a54a PDF

Kacar, B., Hanson‐Smith, V., Adam, Z. R., & Boekelheide, N. (2017). Constraining the timing of the Great Oxidation Event within the Rubisco phylogenetic tree. Geobiology, 15(5), 628-640. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gbi.12243 PDF

Kacar, B., Guy, L., Smith, E., & Baross, J. (2017). Resurrecting ancestral genes in bacteria to interpret ancient biosignatures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 375(2109), 20160352. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsta.2016.0352 PDF

Kacar, B., Ge, X., Sanyal, S., & Gaucher, E. A. (2017). Experimental evolution of Escherichia coli harboring an ancient translation protein. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 84, 69-84. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/S00239-017-9781-0 PDF

Kacar, B. (2016). Rolling the dice twice: evolving reconstructed ancient proteins in extant organisms. Chance in evolution, 264-276. doi.org/10.7208/9780226401911-013 PDF

Kaçar, B., & Gaucher, E. A. (2013). Experimental evolution of protein–protein interaction networks. Biochemical Journal, 453(3), 311-319. https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20130205 PDF

Kacar, B., & Gaucher, E. A. (2012, July). Towards the recapitulation of ancient history in the laboratory: combining synthetic biology with experimental evolution. In Artificial Life Conference Proceedings (pp. 11-18). One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142-1209, USA journals-info@ mit. edu: MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.1162/978-0-262-31050-5-ch002 PDF