[B-CG03] Earth and Planetary Science Frontiers for Life and Global Environment

[BCG03-09] Investigating Environmental Controls on Cyanobacterial Primary Productivity: Laboratory, Genomic, and Environmental Studies.

*Shawn E McGlynn¹, Lucia Gastoldi², Fatima Li Hau¹, Paula Prondzinsky¹, Lewis M Ward^1,3 (1.Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2.Università Politecnica delle Marche , 3.Harvard University)

Keywords:Cyanobacteria, Primary Productivity, Delayed Oxygenation, Hot Springs

Cyanobacteria are key players in Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. In this talk, I will review hypotheses which aim to account for a potential delay in Earth’s oxygenation due to cyanobacterial oxygenic photosynthesis, and provide new insights into the controls of cyanobacterial ecology and evolution. From laboratory studies, we find unique responses to nutrient and pCO₂ modulations with relevance to cyanobacterial proliferation in ancient environments. From genome analyses of the Thermosynechococcus genus, we find that extensive genomic adaptation is unnecessary for broad tolerance to diverse environmental conditions. From environmental studies of cyanobacteria in diverse iron carbonate hot springs in Japan, we gain insight into interspecific interactions and an expanded awareness of the distribution of cyanobacteria across natural environments.