PUBLICATIONS
Garcia AK, Cavanaugh CM, Kacar B. (2021) The curious consistency of carbon biosignatures over billions of years of Earth-life co-evolution (ISME J) In press
Carruthers BM, Garcia AK, Rivier A, Kacar B. (2021) Automated Laboratory Growth Assessment and Maintenance of Azotobacter vinelandii (Current Protocols) https://doi.org/10.1002/cpz1.57
Adam ZR, Fahrenbach A, Jacobson SM, Kacar B, Zubarev D. (2021) Radiolysis generates a complex organosynthetic chemical network (Sci Reports) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81293-6
Goldman AD and Kacar B. (2021) Cofactors are Remnants of Life's Origin and Early Evolution (J Mol Evol) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-020-09988-4
Venkataram S, Monasky R, Hadjizadeh SS, Kryazhimskiy S and Kacar B. (2020) Evolutionary stalling and the limit on the power of natural selection to improve a cellular module (PNAS) https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921881117 Read more: UArizona News
Garcia AK, McShea H, Kolaczkowski B and Kacar B. (2020) Reconstructing the evolutionary history of nitrogenases: Evidence for ancestral molybdenum-cofactor utilization (Geobiology) https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12381
Kacar B, Garcia AK, Anbar A. (2020) Evolutionary History of Bioessential Elements Can Guide the Search for Life in the Universe (ChemBioChem) https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202000500
Liberles D, Chang B, Geiler‑Samerotte K, Goldman Aaron, Hey J, Kaçar B, Meyer M, Murphy W, Posada D, Storfer A. (2020) Emerging Frontiers in the Study of Molecular Evolution (J Mo Evol, Editorial) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-020-09932-6
Garcia AK and Kacar B. (2019) How to resurrect ancestral proteins as proxies for ancient biogeochemistry. Free Radical Biology Medicine. http://doi.org/10.1016/ (Highlighted by NASA Astrobiology Institute)
Kaçar, B., & Womack, Y. (2018). Future shaped by pasts that could have been. Journal of Design and Science. https://doi.org/10.21428/5e41a54a
Adam ZR, Kacar B, Som SS, Lynch K, Walther-Antonio M, Williford K. (2018) The origin of animals as microbial host volumes in nutrient-limited seas (submitted)
Adam ZR, Fahrenbach AC, Kacar B, Aono M. (2018) Prebiotic geochemical automata at the intersection of radiolytic chemistry, physical complexity, and systems biology Complexity, http://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9376183
Domagal-Goldman S. et al. (2018) Life Beyond the Solar System: Remotely Detectable Biosignatures, NASA White Paper
Walker SI, Bains W, Cronin L, DasSarma S, Danielache S, Goldman SD, Kacar B & others. (2018) Exoplanet Biosignatures: Future Directions Astrobiology, http://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2017.1738
Kacar B, Hanson-Smith V, Adam ZR, Boekelheide N. (2017) Reconstruction and Dynamic Modeling of Ancestral Rubisco Proteins Geobiology, 00:1–13. (Covered in New Scientist, NASA Astrobiology Institute Research Highlights)
Kacar B, Guy L, Smith E, Baross J. (2017) Resurrecting ancestral genes in bacteria to interpret ancient biosignatures Roy Soc Phil Trans A, 2017;375(2109) doi: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0352.
Kacar B, Garmendia E*, Tuncbag N, Andersson DI, Hughes D. (2017) Functional Constraints on Replacing an Essential Gene with Its Ancient and Modern Homologs MBio, 8(4) doi: 10.1128/mBio.01276-17.
Kacar B, Ge X, Sanyal S, Gaucher EA. (2017) Experimental evolution of Escherichia coli harboring an ancient translation protein J Mol Evol, 84(2-3):69-84 doi:10.1007/s00239-017-9781-0. (Journal Cover) (MicroJC Discussion video) (Covered in SciWorthy)
Kacar B. (2016) Rolling the Dice Twice: Evolving Reconstructed Ancient Proteins in Extant Organisms Chance in Evolution eds. Pence & Ramsay, University of Chicago Press, 265-276
Kacar B. Astrobiology Primer 2.0 What is LUCA? Domagal-Goldman S, Wright K et al., (2016) Astrobiology 16(8):561-653
Kacar B. Horak R.Astrobiology Primer 2.0, What does the tree of life tell us about how life has evolved? Domagal-Goldman S, Wright K et al,. (2016) Astrobiology 16(8):561-653
Kacar B and Gaucher EA. (2013) Experimental evolution of protein-protein interaction networks Biochem J, 453(3), 311-319 (Covered in Quanta)
Kacar B and Gaucher EA. (2012) Towards the recapitulation of ancient history in the laboratory: Combining synthetic biology with experimental evolution Artificial Life, 13, 11-18 (Covered in Wired, MIT Tech Review, Popular Science, BBC, iO9 and more)
Kacar B, Boyd ES, Dolci W, Dodson E, Boldt M, Pilcher CB. (2011), Workshop without walls: Broadening science access around the world, PLoS Biology, 9(8):e1001118
Aldeco M*, Kacar B*, Edmondson D.E. (2011) Catalytic and Inhibitor Binding Properties of Zebrafish Monoamine Oxidase (zMAO): Comparisons with human MAO A and MAO BComp. Biochemistry, 159(2):78-83
Kacar B, and Edmondson D.E. (2010) Expression of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) in Pichia pastoris: Purification and Comparison with Human MAO A and MAO BProtein. Exp. Purif., 70(2):290-297