Not listed GOALS & OBJECTIVES THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF EARLY BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION CAUSED MAJOR REALIGNMENTS OF ELEMENTAL CYCLES ON A PLANETARY SCALE AND ULTIMATELY DROVE MAJOR GEOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF EARTHS ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE AND CRUST. IT IS PRESENTLY NOT KNOWN WHETHER THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS WAS A FLUKE OF BIOCHEMISTRY OR WHETHER IT WAS ENABLED BY GEOCHEMICAL CHANGES THAT PRECEDED ITS EMERGENCE. THE INTACT GEOLOGIC RECORD IN ANCIENT ROCKS MAY EXTEND BACK TO TIMES WHEN THERE WAS NO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ON EARTH BUT RESEARCHERS DO NOT YET KNOW WHAT EVIDENCE TO SEEK TO PIN DOWN THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF WHEN AND HOW PHOTOSYNTHESIS BEGAN. AT PRESENT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF ACTIVE HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS WHERE EASI-LY IDENTIFIED TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS OCCUR SPATIALLY IN RESPONSE TO COMBINED TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL CHANGES. WE PROPOSE THAT HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS THAT HOST TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ARE IDEAL ENVIRONMENTS TO TEST IDEAS ABOUT THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT MAY HAVE PERMITTED THE HISTORICAL RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS. THIS APPROACH IS FUNDAMENTALLY GEOLOGIC AS IT DERIVES FROM THE NOTIONS THAT THE PRESENT IS THE KEY TO THE PAST AND THAT VARIOUS STAGES OF A PROCESS DISTRIBUTED SPATIALLY CAN BE LINKED TOGETHER TO REVEAL ITS TEMPORAL PROGRESS - EVEN OVER GEOLOGIC TIME. METHODOLOGY FIELDWORK AT YELLOWSTONE SINCE 1999 BY THE PI AND COLLEAGUES HAS YIELDED A DATABASE OF GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES FOR>1500 HOT SPRING SAMPLES. RECENTLY ADDED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF BIOMOLECULAR INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE ANALYSES OF GENES PROTEINS PIGMENTS AND LIPIDS. ALL OF THESE DATA SOURCES WILL BE MERGED TO GUIDE NEW FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT OCCUR ACROSS THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC FRINGE -- THE SOMETIMES REMARKABLY NARROW ZONE SEPARATING CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS FROM THOSE THAT ARE NOT. THE COMBINATION OF DATA WILL ALLOW TESTS OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW GEOCHEMISTRY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE TRANSITION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND HOW BIOCHEMISTRY RESPONDS. RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE FIELDWORK LABORATORY GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES SYNTHESIS OF NEW AND EXISTING DATA AND THEORETICAL MODELING OF RELATIONS AMONG GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA. RELEVANCE TO THE EXOBIOLOGY CALL FOR PROPOSALS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO ASPECTS OF THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE BIOSPHERE RESEARCH EMPHASIS OF THE EXOBIOLOGY PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYLOGENY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS INCLUDING EXTREMOPHILES WHOSE CHARACTERISTICS MAY REFLECT THE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. MORE BROADLY THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS TRIGGERED THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AT EARTHS SURFACE THAT ULTIMATELY ALLOWED THE EMERGENCE OF COMPLEX LIFE AND A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT PERMIT PHOTOSYNTHESIS WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO CONDUCT BETTER-INFORMED EXPLORATION OF OTHER PLANETS THAT MAY SUPPORT LIFE AT THEIR SURFACES. $0 5/20/19 3 GOALS & OBJECTIVES THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF EARLY BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, CAUSED MAJOR REALIGNMENTS OF ELEMENTAL CYCLES ON A PLANETARY SCALE, AND ULTIMATELY DROVE MAJOR GEOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF EARTHS ATMOSPHERE, HYDROSPHERE, AND CRUST. IT IS PRESENTLY NOT KNOWN WHETHER THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS WAS A FLUKE OF BIOCHEMISTRY OR WHETHER IT WAS ENABLED BY GEOCHEMICAL CHANGES THAT PRECEDED ITS EMERGENCE. THE INTACT GEOLOGIC RECORD IN ANCIENT ROCKS MAY EXTEND BACK TO TIMES WHEN THERE WAS NO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ON EARTH, BUT RESEARCHERS DO NOT YET KNOW WHAT EVIDENCE TO SEEK TO PIN DOWN THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF WHEN AND HOW PHOTOSYNTHESIS BEGAN. AT PRESENT, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF ACTIVE HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS WHERE EASI-LY IDENTIFIED TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS OCCUR SPATIALLY IN RESPONSE TO COMBINED TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL CHANGES. WE PROPOSE THAT HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS THAT HOST TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ARE IDEAL ENVIRONMENTS TO TEST IDEAS ABOUT THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT MAY HAVE PERMITTED THE HISTORICAL RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS. THIS APPROACH IS FUNDAMENTALLY GEOLOGIC AS IT DERIVES FROM THE NOTIONS THAT THE PRESENT IS THE KEY TO THE PAST, AND THAT VARIOUS STAGES OF A PROCESS DISTRIBUTED SPATIALLY CAN BE LINKED TOGETHER TO REVEAL ITS TEMPORAL PROGRESS - EVEN OVER GEOLOGIC TIME. METHODOLOGY FIELDWORK AT YELLOWSTONE SINCE 1999 BY THE PI AND COLLEAGUES HAS YIELDED A DATABASE OF GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES FOR>1500 HOT SPRING SAMPLES. RECENTLY ADDED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF BIOMOLECULAR INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE ANALYSES OF GENES, PROTEINS, PIGMENTS, AND LIPIDS. ALL OF THESE DATA SOURCES WILL BE MERGED TO GUIDE NEW FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT OCCUR ACROSS THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC FRINGE -- THE SOMETIMES REMARKABLY NARROW ZONE SEPARATING CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS FROM THOSE THAT ARE NOT. THE COMBINATION OF DATA WILL ALLOW TESTS OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW GEOCHEMISTRY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE TRANSITION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND HOW BIOCHEMISTRY RESPONDS. RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE FIELDWORK, LABORATORY GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES, SYNTHESIS OF NEW AND EXISTING DATA, AND THEORETICAL MODELING OF RELATIONS AMONG GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA. RELEVANCE TO THE EXOBIOLOGY CALL FOR PROPOSALS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO ASPECTS OF THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE BIOSPHERE RESEARCH EMPHASIS OF THE EXOBIOLOGY PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYLOGENY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS, INCLUDING EXTREMOPHILES, WHOSE CHARACTERISTICS MAY REFLECT THE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. MORE BROADLY, THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS TRIGGERED THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AT EARTHS SURFACE THAT ULTIMATELY ALLOWED THE EMERGENCE OF COMPLEX LIFE, AND A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT PERMIT PHOTOSYNTHESIS WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO CONDUCT BETTER-INFORMED EXPLORATION OF OTHER PLANETS THAT MAY SUPPORT LIFE AT THEIR SURFACES. Other Administrative Action $0 5/20/19 2 GOALS & OBJECTIVES THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF EARLY BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, CAUSED MAJOR REALIGNMENTS OF ELEMENTAL CYCLES ON A PLANETARY SCALE, AND ULTIMATELY DROVE MAJOR GEOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF EARTHS ATMOSPHERE, HYDROSPHERE, AND CRUST. IT IS PRESENTLY NOT KNOWN WHETHER THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS WAS A FLUKE OF BIOCHEMISTRY OR WHETHER IT WAS ENABLED BY GEOCHEMICAL CHANGES THAT PRECEDED ITS EMERGENCE. THE INTACT GEOLOGIC RECORD IN ANCIENT ROCKS MAY EXTEND BACK TO TIMES WHEN THERE WAS NO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ON EARTH, BUT RESEARCHERS DO NOT YET KNOW WHAT EVIDENCE TO SEEK TO PIN DOWN THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF WHEN AND HOW PHOTOSYNTHESIS BEGAN. AT PRESENT, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF ACTIVE HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS WHERE EASI-LY IDENTIFIED TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS OCCUR SPATIALLY IN RESPONSE TO COMBINED TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL CHANGES. WE PROPOSE THAT HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS THAT HOST TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ARE IDEAL ENVIRONMENTS TO TEST IDEAS ABOUT THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT MAY HAVE PERMITTED THE HISTORICAL RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS. THIS APPROACH IS FUNDAMENTALLY GEOLOGIC AS IT DERIVES FROM THE NOTIONS THAT THE PRESENT IS THE KEY TO THE PAST, AND THAT VARIOUS STAGES OF A PROCESS DISTRIBUTED SPATIALLY CAN BE LINKED TOGETHER TO REVEAL ITS TEMPORAL PROGRESS - EVEN OVER GEOLOGIC TIME. METHODOLOGY FIELDWORK AT YELLOWSTONE SINCE 1999 BY THE PI AND COLLEAGUES HAS YIELDED A DATABASE OF GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES FOR>1500 HOT SPRING SAMPLES. RECENTLY ADDED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF BIOMOLECULAR INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE ANALYSES OF GENES, PROTEINS, PIGMENTS, AND LIPIDS. ALL OF THESE DATA SOURCES WILL BE MERGED TO GUIDE NEW FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT OCCUR ACROSS THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC FRINGE -- THE SOMETIMES REMARKABLY NARROW ZONE SEPARATING CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS FROM THOSE THAT ARE NOT. THE COMBINATION OF DATA WILL ALLOW TESTS OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW GEOCHEMISTRY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE TRANSITION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND HOW BIOCHEMISTRY RESPONDS. RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE FIELDWORK, LABORATORY GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES, SYNTHESIS OF NEW AND EXISTING DATA, AND THEORETICAL MODELING OF RELATIONS AMONG GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA. RELEVANCE TO THE EXOBIOLOGY CALL FOR PROPOSALS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO ASPECTS OF THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE BIOSPHERE RESEARCH EMPHASIS OF THE EXOBIOLOGY PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYLOGENY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS, INCLUDING EXTREMOPHILES, WHOSE CHARACTERISTICS MAY REFLECT THE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. MORE BROADLY, THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS TRIGGERED THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AT EARTHS SURFACE THAT ULTIMATELY ALLOWED THE EMERGENCE OF COMPLEX LIFE, AND A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT PERMIT PHOTOSYNTHESIS WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO CONDUCT BETTER-INFORMED EXPLORATION OF OTHER PLANETS THAT MAY SUPPORT LIFE AT THEIR SURFACES. Funding Only Action $281.6k 3/13/18 Not listed GOALS & OBJECTIVES THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF EARLY BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION CAUSED MAJOR REALIGNMENTS OF ELEMENTAL CYCLES ON A PLANETARY SCALE AND ULTIMATELY DROVE MAJOR GEOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF EARTHS ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE AND CRUST. IT IS PRESENTLY NOT KNOWN WHETHER THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS WAS A FLUKE OF BIOCHEMISTRY OR WHETHER IT WAS ENABLED BY GEOCHEMICAL CHANGES THAT PRECEDED ITS EMERGENCE. THE INTACT GEOLOGIC RECORD IN ANCIENT ROCKS MAY EXTEND BACK TO TIMES WHEN THERE WAS NO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ON EARTH BUT RESEARCHERS DO NOT YET KNOW WHAT EVIDENCE TO SEEK TO PIN DOWN THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF WHEN AND HOW PHOTOSYNTHESIS BEGAN. AT PRESENT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF ACTIVE HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS WHERE EASI-LY IDENTIFIED TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS OCCUR SPATIALLY IN RESPONSE TO COMBINED TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL CHANGES. WE PROPOSE THAT HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS THAT HOST TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ARE IDEAL ENVIRONMENTS TO TEST IDEAS ABOUT THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT MAY HAVE PERMITTED THE HISTORICAL RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS. THIS APPROACH IS FUNDAMENTALLY GEOLOGIC AS IT DERIVES FROM THE NOTIONS THAT THE PRESENT IS THE KEY TO THE PAST AND THAT VARIOUS STAGES OF A PROCESS DISTRIBUTED SPATIALLY CAN BE LINKED TOGETHER TO REVEAL ITS TEMPORAL PROGRESS - EVEN OVER GEOLOGIC TIME. METHODOLOGY FIELDWORK AT YELLOWSTONE SINCE 1999 BY THE PI AND COLLEAGUES HAS YIELDED A DATABASE OF GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES FOR>1500 HOT SPRING SAMPLES. RECENTLY ADDED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF BIOMOLECULAR INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE ANALYSES OF GENES PROTEINS PIGMENTS AND LIPIDS. ALL OF THESE DATA SOURCES WILL BE MERGED TO GUIDE NEW FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT OCCUR ACROSS THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC FRINGE -- THE SOMETIMES REMARKABLY NARROW ZONE SEPARATING CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS FROM THOSE THAT ARE NOT. THE COMBINATION OF DATA WILL ALLOW TESTS OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW GEOCHEMISTRY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE TRANSITION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND HOW BIOCHEMISTRY RESPONDS. RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE FIELDWORK LABORATORY GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES SYNTHESIS OF NEW AND EXISTING DATA AND THEORETICAL MODELING OF RELATIONS AMONG GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA. RELEVANCE TO THE EXOBIOLOGY CALL FOR PROPOSALS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO ASPECTS OF THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE BIOSPHERE RESEARCH EMPHASIS OF THE EXOBIOLOGY PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYLOGENY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS INCLUDING EXTREMOPHILES WHOSE CHARACTERISTICS MAY REFLECT THE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. MORE BROADLY THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS TRIGGERED THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AT EARTHS SURFACE THAT ULTIMATELY ALLOWED THE EMERGENCE OF COMPLEX LIFE AND A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT PERMIT PHOTOSYNTHESIS WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO CONDUCT BETTER-INFORMED EXPLORATION OF OTHER PLANETS THAT MAY SUPPORT LIFE AT THEIR SURFACES. $281.6k 3/13/18 Not listed GOALS & OBJECTIVES THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED THE TRAJECTORY OF EARLY BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION CAUSED MAJOR REALIGNMENTS OF ELEMENTAL CYCLES ON A PLANETARY SCALE AND ULTIMATELY DROVE MAJOR GEOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF EARTHS ATMOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE AND CRUST. IT IS PRESENTLY NOT KNOWN WHETHER THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS WAS A FLUKE OF BIOCHEMISTRY OR WHETHER IT WAS ENABLED BY GEOCHEMICAL CHANGES THAT PRECEDED ITS EMERGENCE. THE INTACT GEOLOGIC RECORD IN ANCIENT ROCKS MAY EXTEND BACK TO TIMES WHEN THERE WAS NO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ON EARTH BUT RESEARCHERS DO NOT YET KNOW WHAT EVIDENCE TO SEEK TO PIN DOWN THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF WHEN AND HOW PHOTOSYNTHESIS BEGAN. AT PRESENT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF ACTIVE HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS WHERE EASI-LY IDENTIFIED TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS OCCUR SPATIALLY IN RESPONSE TO COMBINED TEMPERATURE AND CHEMICAL CHANGES. WE PROPOSE THAT HOT SPRING ECOSYSTEMS THAT HOST TRANSITIONS TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS ARE IDEAL ENVIRONMENTS TO TEST IDEAS ABOUT THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT MAY HAVE PERMITTED THE HISTORICAL RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS. THIS APPROACH IS FUNDAMENTALLY GEOLOGIC AS IT DERIVES FROM THE NOTIONS THAT THE PRESENT IS THE KEY TO THE PAST AND THAT VARIOUS STAGES OF A PROCESS DISTRIBUTED SPATIALLY CAN BE LINKED TOGETHER TO REVEAL ITS TEMPORAL PROGRESS - EVEN OVER GEOLOGIC TIME. METHODOLOGY FIELDWORK AT YELLOWSTONE SINCE 1999 BY THE PI AND COLLEAGUES HAS YIELDED A DATABASE OF GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSES FOR>1500 HOT SPRING SAMPLES. RECENTLY ADDED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF BIOMOLECULAR INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDE ANALYSES OF GENES PROTEINS PIGMENTS AND LIPIDS. ALL OF THESE DATA SOURCES WILL BE MERGED TO GUIDE NEW FIELD AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS OF THE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR CHANGES THAT OCCUR ACROSS THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC FRINGE -- THE SOMETIMES REMARKABLY NARROW ZONE SEPARATING CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS FROM THOSE THAT ARE NOT. THE COMBINATION OF DATA WILL ALLOW TESTS OF HYPOTHESES ABOUT HOW GEOCHEMISTRY SETS THE STAGE FOR THE TRANSITION TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND HOW BIOCHEMISTRY RESPONDS. RESEARCH WILL INVOLVE FIELDWORK LABORATORY GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES SYNTHESIS OF NEW AND EXISTING DATA AND THEORETICAL MODELING OF RELATIONS AMONG GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA. RELEVANCE TO THE EXOBIOLOGY CALL FOR PROPOSALS THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO ASPECTS OF THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND THE BIOSPHERE RESEARCH EMPHASIS OF THE EXOBIOLOGY PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY THE PROPOSED WORK WILL COMBINE GEOCHEMICAL AND BIOMOLECULAR DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYLOGENY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MICROORGANISMS INCLUDING EXTREMOPHILES WHOSE CHARACTERISTICS MAY REFLECT THE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND INVESTIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. MORE BROADLY THE RISE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS TRIGGERED THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AT EARTHS SURFACE THAT ULTIMATELY ALLOWED THE EMERGENCE OF COMPLEX LIFE AND A FULLER UNDERSTANDING OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT PERMIT PHOTOSYNTHESIS WILL ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO CONDUCT BETTER-INFORMED EXPLORATION OF OTHER PLANETS THAT MAY SUPPORT LIFE AT THEIR SURFACES. $287.6k 1/11/17