Betül Kaçar

• Microbial N2O Reduction in Sulfidic Waters: Implications for Proterozoic Oceans
  July 11, 2026
  Steffen Buessecker, Aya S Klos, Melanie E Quan, Anna H Finch, Morgan S Sobol, Guy N Evans, Ariel D Anbar, Betül Kaçar, Anne E Dekas Geobiology
• The Emergence of Life in the Light of Evolution
  July 2, 2026
  Betül Kaçar, Tom A Williams, Laura Eme, Johann Peter Gogarten, Patricia Sanchez-Baracaldo, Anja Spang, Frank O Aylward, Michael Travisano, Paula V Welander, Julie A Huber, Vaughn S Cooper, Paul E Turner, Timothy W Lyons, Andrew D Ellington, Shelley D Copley, Eugene V Koonin, Michael Lynch ArXiv
• Evolution-guided engineering of an ancient nitrogenase interface enhances enzyme activity and stability
  June 12, 2026
  Elias I Kemna, Rajdeep Banerjee, Betül Kaçar bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
• Biological use of molybdenum and tungsten stems back to 3.4 billion years ago
  May 5, 2026
  Aya S Klos, Morgan S Sobol, Joanne S Boden, Eva E Stüeken, Rika E Anderson, Kurt O Konhauser, Betül Kaçar Nature communications
• Evolution of Translation Initiation Factor 2 Extensions Links Initiation to Bacterial Stress Response
  February 23, 2026
  Evrim Fer, Rajdeep Banerjee, Katsumi Hagino, Kaitlyn M McGrath, Betül Kaçar bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
• Ecological constraints and evolutionary trade-offs shape nitrogen fixation across habitats
  February 16, 2026
  Morgan S Sobol, Aya S Klos, Cécile Ané, Katherine D McMahon, Betül Kaçar ISME communications
• Universal paralogs provide a window into evolution before the last universal common ancestor
  February 6, 2026
  Aaron D Goldman, Gregory P Fournier, Betül Kaçar Cell genomics
• Resurrected nitrogenases recapitulate canonical N-isotope biosignatures over two billion years
  January 22, 2026
  Holly R Rucker, Kunmanee Bubphamanee, Derek F Harris, Kurt Konhauser, Lance C Seefeldt, Roger Buick, Betül Kaçar Nature communications
• Planetary microbiology: microbes, planets, and the search for life
  September 30, 2025
  Betül Kaçar Applied and environmental microbiology
• Structural evolution of nitrogenase over 3 billion years
  September 11, 2025
  Bruno Cuevas Zuviría, Franka Detemple, Kaustubh Amritkar, Amanda K Garcia, Lance Seefeldt, Oliver Einsle, Betül Kaçar eLife
• Evolution and structural diversity of the MotAB stator: insights into the origins of bacterial flagellar motility
  September 10, 2025
  Caroline Puente-Lelievre, Pietro Ridone, Jordan Douglas, Kaustubh Amritkar, Betül Kaçar, Matthew A B Baker, Nicholas J Matzke mBio
• The origins and evolution of translation factors
  March 25, 2025
  Evrim Fer, Tony Yao, Kaitlyn M McGrath, Aaron D Goldman, Betül Kaçar Trends in genetics : TIG
• Evolutionary Dynamics of RuBisCO: Emergence of the Small Subunit and its Impact Through Time
  January 8, 2025
  Kaustubh Amritkar, Bruno Cuevas-Zuviría, Betül Kaçar Molecular biology and evolution
• Reconstructing Early Microbial Life
  August 20, 2024
  Betül Kaçar Annual review of microbiology
• Ancient nitrogenases are ATP dependent
  June 13, 2024
  Derek F Harris, Holly R Rucker, Amanda K Garcia, Zhi-Yong Yang, Scott D Chang, Hannah Feinsilber, Betül Kaçar, Lance C Seefeldt mBio
• A concept for international societally relevant microbiology education and microbiology knowledge promulgation in society
  May 27, 2024
  Kenneth Timmis, John E Hallsworth, Terry J McGenity, Rachel Armstrong, María Francisca Colom, Zeynep Ceren Karahan, Max Chavarría, Patricia Bernal, Eric S Boyd, Juan Luis Ramos, Martin Kaltenpoth, Carla Pruzzo, Gerard Clarke, Purificación López-Garcia, Michail M Yakimov, Jessamyn Perlmutter, Chris Greening, Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh, Willy Verstraete, Olga C Nunes, Oleg Kotsyurbenko, Pablo Iván Nikel, Paola Scavone, […]
• Emergence of an Orphan Nitrogenase Protein Following Atmospheric Oxygenation
  March 25, 2024
  Bruno Cuevas-Zuviría, Amanda K Garcia, Alex J Rivier, Holly R Rucker, Brooke M Carruthers, Betül Kaçar Molecular biology and evolution
• A CRISPR interference system for engineering biological nitrogen fixation
  February 20, 2024
  Steven J Russell, Amanda K Garcia, Betül Kaçar mSystems
• Fitness benefits of a synonymous substitution in an ancient EF-Tu gene depend on the genetic background
  January 30, 2024
  Kaitlyn M McGrath, Steven J Russell, Evrim Fer, Eva Garmendia, Ali Hosgel, David A Baltrus, Betül Kaçar Journal of bacteriology
• Evolutionary flexibility and rigidity in the bacterial methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway
  November 29, 2023
  Bailey Marshall, Kaustubh Amritkar, Michael Wolfe, Betül Kaçar, Robert Landick Frontiers in microbiology
• A beneficial synonymous substitution in EF-Tu is contingent on genetic background
  October 27, 2023
  Kaitlyn M McGrath, Steven J Russell, Evrim Fer, Eva Garmendia, Ali Hosgel, David A Baltrus, Betül Kaçar bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
• The modular biochemical reaction network structure of cellular translation
  October 26, 2023
  Bruno Cuevas-Zuviría, Evrim Fer, Zachary R Adam, Betül Kaçar NPJ systems biology and applications
• Assessment of Stoichiometric Autocatalysis across Element Groups
  September 18, 2023
  Zhen Peng, Zachary R Adam, Albert C Fahrenbach, Betül Kaçar Journal of the American Chemical Society
• Regulatory response to a hybrid ancestral nitrogenase in Azotobacter vinelandii
  September 13, 2023
  Alex J Rivier, Kevin S Myers, Amanda K Garcia, Morgan S Sobol, Betül Kaçar Microbiology spectrum
• Informatic Capabilities of Translation and Its Implications for the Origins of Life
  August 1, 2023
  Bruno Cuevas-Zuviría, Zachary R Adam, Aaron D Goldman, Betül Kaçar Journal of molecular evolution
• Enigmatic evolution of microbial nitrogen fixation: insights from Earth's past
  April 15, 2023
  Holly R Rucker, Betül Kaçar Trends in microbiology
• Nitrogenase resurrection and the evolution of a singular enzymatic mechanism
  February 17, 2023
  Amanda K Garcia, Derek F Harris, Alex J Rivier, Brooke M Carruthers, Azul Pinochet-Barros, Lance C Seefeldt, Betül Kaçar eLife
• Effects of RuBisCO and CO2 concentration on cyanobacterial growth and carbon isotope fractionation
  January 5, 2023
  Amanda K Garcia, Mateusz Kędzior, Arnaud Taton, Meng Li, Jodi N Young, Betül Kaçar Geobiology
• Early Nitrogenase Ancestors Encompassed Novel Active Site Diversity
  October 19, 2022
  Sarah L Schwartz, Amanda K Garcia, Betül Kaçar, Gregory P Fournier Molecular biology and evolution
• Early divergence of translation initiation and elongation factors
  October 17, 2022
  Evrim Fer, Kaitlyn M McGrath, Lionel Guy, Adam J Hockenberry, Betül Kaçar Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society
• An Integrated Method to Reconstruct Ancient Proteins
  September 9, 2022
  Amanda K Garcia, Evrim Fer, Cathryn Sephus, Betul Kacar Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
• Very early evolution from the perspective of microbial ecology
  August 9, 2022
  Aaron D Goldman, Betül Kaçar Environmental microbiology
• Earliest Photic Zone Niches Probed by Ancestral Microbial Rhodopsins
  May 7, 2022
  Cathryn D Sephus, Evrim Fer, Amanda K Garcia, Zachary R Adam, Edward W Schwieterman, Betul Kacar Molecular biology and evolution
• Resurrected Rubisco suggests uniform carbon isotope signatures over geologic time
  April 27, 2022
  Mateusz Kędzior, Amanda K Garcia, Meng Li, Arnaud Taton, Zachary R Adam, Jodi N Young, Betül Kaçar Cell reports
• Reconstruction of Nitrogenase Predecessors Suggests Origin from Maturase-Like Proteins
  February 18, 2022
  Amanda K Garcia, Bryan Kolaczkowski, Betül Kaçar Genome biology and evolution
• Correction: Automated Laboratory Growth Assessment and Maintenance of Azotobacter vinelandii
  January 16, 2022
  Brooke M Carruthers, Amanda K Garcia, Alex Rivier, Betul Kacar Current protocols
• Quantification of RuBisCO Expression and Photosynthetic Oxygen Evolution in Cyanobacteria
  November 11, 2021
  Mateusz Kędzior, Betul Kacar Bio-protocol
• Kinetic Analysis Suggests Evolution of Ribosome Specificity in Modern Elongation Factor-Tus from "Generalist" Ancestors
  April 19, 2021
  Arindam De Tarafder, Narayan Prasad Parajuli, Soneya Majumdar, Betül Kaçar, Suparna Sanyal Molecular biology and evolution
• The curious consistency of carbon biosignatures over billions of years of Earth-life coevolution
  April 13, 2021
  Amanda K Garcia, Colleen M Cavanaugh, Betul Kacar The ISME journal
• Automated Laboratory Growth Assessment and Maintenance of Azotobacter vinelandii
  March 3, 2021
  Brooke M Carruthers, Amanda K Garcia, Alex Rivier, Betul Kacar Current protocols
• Cofactors are Remnants of Life's Origin and Early Evolution
  February 6, 2021
  Aaron D Goldman, Betul Kacar Journal of molecular evolution
• Radiolysis generates a complex organosynthetic chemical network
  January 19, 2021
  Zachary R Adam, Albert C Fahrenbach, Sofia M Jacobson, Betul Kacar, Dmitry Yu Zubarev Scientific reports
• Evolutionary History of Bioessential Elements Can Guide the Search for Life in the Universe
  November 2, 2020
  Betul Kacar, Amanda K Garcia, Ariel D Anbar Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology
• Evolutionary stalling and a limit on the power of natural selection to improve a cellular module
  July 19, 2020
  Sandeep Venkataram, Ross Monasky, Shohreh H Sikaroodi, Sergey Kryazhimskiy, Betul Kacar Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
• Reconstructing the evolutionary history of nitrogenases: Evidence for ancestral molybdenum-cofactor utilization
  February 18, 2020
  Amanda K Garcia, Hanon McShea, Bryan Kolaczkowski, Betül Kaçar Geobiology
• Emerging Frontiers in the Study of Molecular Evolution
  February 16, 2020
  David A Liberles, Belinda Chang, Kerry Geiler-Samerotte, Aaron Goldman, Jody Hey, Betül Kaçar, Michelle Meyer, William Murphy, David Posada, Andrew Storfer Journal of molecular evolution
• How to resurrect ancestral proteins as proxies for ancient biogeochemistry
  April 6, 2019
  Amanda K Garcia, Betül Kaçar Free radical biology & medicine
• Exoplanet Biosignatures: Future Directions
  June 26, 2018
  Sara I Walker, William Bains, Leroy Cronin, Shiladitya DasSarma, Sebastian Danielache, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, Betul Kacar, Nancy Y Kiang, Adrian Lenardic, Christopher T Reinhard, William Moore, Edward W Schwieterman, Evgenya L Shkolnik, Harrison B Smith Astrobiology
• Resurrecting ancestral genes in bacteria to interpret ancient biosignatures
  November 15, 2017
  Betul Kacar, Lionel Guy, Eric Smith, John Baross Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
• Functional Constraints on Replacing an Essential Gene with Its Ancient and Modern Homologs
  August 31, 2017
  Betül Kacar, Eva Garmendia, Nurcan Tuncbag, Dan I Andersson, Diarmaid Hughes mBio
• Constraining the timing of the Great Oxidation Event within the Rubisco phylogenetic tree
  July 4, 2017
  B Kacar, V Hanson-Smith, Z R Adam, N Boekelheide Geobiology
• Experimental Evolution of Escherichia coli Harboring an Ancient Translation Protein
  February 25, 2017
  Betül Kacar, Xueliang Ge, Suparna Sanyal, Eric A Gaucher Journal of molecular evolution
• The Astrobiology Primer v2.0
  August 18, 2016
  Shawn D Domagal-Goldman, Katherine E Wright, Katarzyna Adamala, Leigh Arina de la Rubia, Jade Bond, Lewis R Dartnell, Aaron D Goldman, Kennda Lynch, Marie-Eve Naud, Ivan G Paulino-Lima, Kelsi Singer, Marina Walther-Antonio, Ximena C Abrevaya, Rika Anderson, Giada Arney, Dimitra Atri, Armando Azúa-Bustos, Jeff S Bowman, William J Brazelton, Gregory A Brennecka, Regina Carns, Aditya […]
• Experimental evolution of protein-protein interaction networks
  July 16, 2013
  Betül Kaçar, Eric A Gaucher The Biochemical journal

The Kaçar Lab investigates the origins of life, the biology of early Earth and how understanding life’s emergence and early mechanisms may assist finding life beyond Earth. We are home to the NASA Astrobiology Center for Early Life and Evolution. Our integrative approach enables the study of biomolecule-scale macroevolutionary trends that span billions of years of history and is a fundamentally new methodology with which to study the origins and early evolution of life. The overall goal of our work is to assess the possible environmental impacts of ancient enzymes on global-scale signatures that record biological activity. Our work has been recognized by various media outlets, such as the UN Women, UNICEF, Library of Congress, European Union Delegation on Education, NOVA Science, BBC, NPR Science Friday, MIT Technology Review, Vice News, Wired, PBS, CNN and others.

For more please visit the following links:

• The lab resurrecting ancient proteins to unlock life’s secrets
• A Protein Society Interview With Betül Kaçar: Gazing into the Past to See the Future
• Betul Kacar United Nations I am Generation Equality Campaign
• Watch a PBS documentary featuring our work: Origins of Life
• Click here to download a NASA Comic Book featuring our work
• Listen to Betül’s TED talk: A chemical cocktail for life across the cosmos

Start and Promotion Dates

• Assistant Professor: 2021
• Associate Professor: 2024

Education

PhD: Emory University, Department of Chemistry
Postdoctoral research: NASA Astrobiology Institute and Harvard University

• Zachary Adam – Associate Scientist
• Kaustubh Amritkar – Grad Student
• Rajdeep Banerjee – Scientist
• Allie Beyer – Grad Student
• Ezra Bolotsky – Research Tech
• Bruno Cuevas Zuviria – Honorary Researcher
• Kaleb Fisher – Grad Student
• Katsumi Hagino – Postdoc
• Elias Kemna – Grad Student
• Aya Klos – Grad Student
• Holly Rucker – Grad Student
• Morgan Sobol – Postdoc