Illuminating early Earth's broken iron cycle using a living fossil photosynthetic bacterium

• Project/Area Number: 25K00028
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 17050:Biogeosciences-related
• Research Institution: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: TSUJI JACKSON・MAKOTO 国立研究開発法人海洋研究開発機構, 超先鋭研究開発部門(超先鋭研究開発プログラム), Young Research Fellow (60976207)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 柏原 輝彦 国立研究開発法人海洋研究開発機構, 海洋機能利用部門(海底資源センター), 主任研究員 (70611515) ; 渡邉 友浩 北海道大学, 低温科学研究所, 准教授 (80731968)
• Project Period (FY): 2025-04-01 – 2028-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2025)
• Budget Amount: ¥18,850,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,350,000); Fiscal Year 2027: ¥3,120,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥720,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥6,370,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,470,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥9,360,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,160,000)
• Keywords: Precambrian / Ocean / Bacteria / Photosynthesis / Iron

Outline of Research at the Start

What allowed Earth to become the world we know today? Unlike the modern planet, primordial Earth lacked oxygen gas, and oxygen gas production would have been hindered by high levels of dissolved iron in the oceans. In this research, we will characterize an unusual iron-eating bacterium whose ancient relatives may have removed iron from ocean water and made the way for oxygen to flood the Earth. Our work to resurrect ancient Earth-like conditions using this bacterium in the lab will help us understand how global climate can change over time and how life might develop on other worlds.