Before oxygen

Most geologic evidence suggests that the earliest days of Earth had no oxygen and living things survived on toxic gases such as methane and hydrogen sulfide. To learn more about this past, we study unique microorganisms such as purple sulfur bacteria that thrive in anoxic conditions.

Collaborators: Alice Bosco Santos (University of Lausanne), Cynthia Silveira (U Miami), Joe Werne (U Pittsburgh), Molly O’Beirne (U Pittsburgh), Byron Steinman (U Minnesota Duluth), Mark Abbott (U Pittsburgh), Trinity Hamilton (U Minnesota), Jeff Havig (U Minnesota).