Betül Kaçar

Paralogous guanine deaminases acquired from bacteria by horizontal gene transfer promote purine homeostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans

This study identifies two paralogous guanine deaminases in C. elegans that regulate purine homeostasis, with one acquired via horizontal gene transfer from bacteria.

Microbial N2O reduction in sulfidic waters:Implications for Proterozoic oceans

The paper investigates microbial N2O reduction in sulfidic waters, finding that Proterozoic oceans likely had lower N2O emissions due to active N2O reduction under euxinic conditions.

Evolution-guided engineering of an ancient nitrogenase interface enhances enzyme activity and stability

The paper identifies a tunable interface in nitrogenase that can be engineered to enhance enzyme activity and stability through targeted mutations.

Evolution of Translation Initiation Factor 2 Extensions Links Initiation to Bacterial Stress Response

The paper investigates the evolutionary and functional roles of translation initiation factor 2 (IF2) terminal extensions across bacteria, showing their role in stress response and adaptation.

Resurrected nitrogenases recapitulate canonical N-isotope biosignatures over two billion years

The paper resurrects ancient nitrogenase enzymes and shows their nitrogen isotope signatures are similar to modern ones, suggesting evolutionary invariance and supporting the use of N-isotope biosignatures for detecting life.

Ecological constraints and evolutionary trade-offs shape nitrogen fixation across habitats

The paper investigates how ecological constraints and evolutionary trade-offs influence nitrogen fixation across different habitats by analyzing microbial genomes and environmental factors.

ChemOrigins: A community curated database for origins of life chemistry

ChemOrigins is a community-curated database that organizes experimentally supported prebiotic reactions into a knowledge graph for research and education.

Molecular and structural innovations of the stator motor complex at the dawn of flagellar motility

This study classifies and characterizes MotAB stator complexes across bacterial phyla, identifying structural innovations linked to flagellar motility.

Agnostic Tools for Life Detection: A Multiscale Approach to Biological and Chemical Reaction Networks

The paper evaluates macroscale and microscale metrics to distinguish biotic from abiotic chemical reaction networks and proposes an agnostic toolset for life detection.

Did Iron Suppress Eukaryote Emergence and Early Radiation?

This study investigates how iron availability influenced early eukaryotic evolution by linking geochemical records with microbial biochemistry, suggesting iron constraints rather than oxygen availability drove eukaryogenesis.

Biological molybdenum usage stems back to 3.4 billion years ago

This study uses phylogenomic analysis to show that molybdenum-dependent enzymes existed as early as 3.4 billion years ago, suggesting Mo was bioavailable in ancient oceans.

Evolutionary Dynamics of RuBisCO: Emergence of the Small Subunit and its Impact Through Time

The paper analyzes the evolutionary dynamics of RuBisCO, showing how the small subunit influenced the enzyme's conformational flexibility and response to atmospheric changes.

Ecological resource competition as a driver of metallome evolution

The paper explains the evolutionary timing of nitrogenase isozymes by linking ecological competition for molybdenum to changes in environmental conditions after the Great Oxidation Event.

Structural evolution of nitrogenase enzymes over geologic time

The paper reconstructs the structural evolution of nitrogenase enzymes over 3 billion years using phylogenetics, ancestral sequence reconstruction, crystallography, and deep learning.

The modular biochemical reaction network structure of cellular translation

The paper constructs a multilayer graph of biochemical reactions for translation, polymer biosynthesis, and metabolism in E. coli, revealing distinct modular structures and multimodal distributions.