Dr Joanne Boden
PhD, MSc, BSC Hons
Current positions
Honorary Research Associate
School of Geographical Sciences
Contact
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Research interests
I am interested in the co-evolution of Earth and life. My PhD focussed on Cyanobacteria, ancient oxygenic phototrophs which first appeared more than 2.3 billion years ago. They are now widespread from cold glacial habitats to to temperate agricultural soils, geothermal vents and warm tropical oceans near the equator. Many species are important ecosystem engineers, generating organic nitrogen and carbohydrates which facitate the growth of animals and plants higher in the food chain. My research investigates how Cyanobactria have grown to prosper in their varied and changing environments. This draws upon methods of phylogenetic analyses, bayesian molecular clocks, microbial culture and genome assembly. Particular topics of focus include antioxidant evolution, superoxide dismutase gene expression and diversification of cold-tolerant strains.
Publications
Recent publications
17/10/2022On the trail of iron uptake in ancestral Cyanobacteria on early Earth
Geobiology
Draft genome sequences of three filamentous cyanobacteria isolated from brackish habitats
Journal of Genomics
Timing the evolution of antioxidant enzymes in cyanobacteria
Nature Communications
Timing the Evolution of Cyanobacterial Antioxidants: Superoxide Dismutases
Nature Communications
Thesis
Evolution of Cyanobacteria Through Geological Time
Supervisors
Award date
22/03/2022