About Us
Accelerated protein evolution is an important, naturally occurring phenomenon, which is likely to offer translational advances in the field of directed evolution. In microbial genomes, localized mutagenesis can generate massive protein variation, offering selective advantages linked with optimizing a variety of cellular and viral functions. Recent surveys have tied this phenomenon to most lineages of the Bacteria and Archaea, though a disproportionately outsize group of organisms possess this trait within subsurface and human microbiomes. Our team aims to build on these discoveries to ascertain functional roles of hypervariable proteins, while aiming to better describe the genetic mechanism(s) that underpin their diversity. In an expanding collaborative effort, this work will transition from discovery-based research to hypothesis-driven projects centered on organisms from the human microbiome, aquatic biomes, and the subsurface biosphere.
