We combine experimental techniques with computational simulations to probe the mechanisms of environmental organic processes, with the goal of guiding the prediction or engineering of these processes for carbon and nutrient cycling and recycling.

We address research questions at the interfaces of environmental chemistry, environmental health, and environmental biotechnology. We seek to gain novel molecular insights into the mechanisms that control the dynamic fate of organic nutrients, biomacromolecules, and organic contaminants.

New article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Osorio-Rodriguez, Metcalfe, McGlynn, Yu, Dekas, Ellisman, Deerinck, Aristilde, Grotzinger, and Orphan

TITLE: Microbially induced precipitation of silica by anaerobic methane-oxidizing consortia and implications for microbial fossil preservation —ABSTRACT: Authigenic carbonate minerals can preserve biosignatures of microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in the rock record. It is not currently known whether

New article in iScience by Casini, McCubbin, Esquivel-Elizondo, Luque, Evseeva, Fink, Beblawy, Youngblut, Aristilde, Huson, Dräger, Ley, Marcellin, Angenent, and Molitor

TITLE: An integrated systems-biology approach reveals differences in formate metabolism in the genus Methanothermobacter —ABSTRACT: Methanogenesis allows methanogenic archaea to generate cellular energy for their growth while producing methane. Thermophilic hydrogenotrophic species of the genus Methanothermobacter have been recognized as

New article in The ISME Journal by Benchade, Cabuslay, Hu, Mendonca, Hassanpour, Lin, Su, Fiers, Anandarajan, Lu, Olson, Duplais, Rosen, Moreau, Aristilde, Wertz, and Russell.

TITLE: Physiological and evolutionary contexts of a new symbiotic species from the nitrogen-recycling gut community of turtle ants —ABSTRACT: While genome sequencing has expanded our knowledge of symbiosis, role assignment within multi-species microbiomes remains challenging due to genomic redundancy and

New article in Nature Chemical Biology by Wilkes, Waldbauer, Caroll, Nieto-Domínguez, Parker, Zhang, Guss, and Aristilde

TITLE: Complex regulation in a Comamonas platform for diverse aromatic carbon metabolism –ABSTRACT: Critical to a sustainable energy future are microbial platforms that can process aromatic carbons from the largely untapped reservoir of lignin and plastic feedstocks. Comamonas species present

New article in Environmental Science and Technology by Solhtalab, Moller, Gu, Jaisi, and Aristilde

TITLE: Selectivity in Enzymatic Phosphorus Recycling from Biopolymers: Isotope Effect, Reactivity Kinetics, and Molecular Docking with Fungal and Plant Phosphatases –ABSTRACT Among ubiquitous phosphorus (P) reserves in environmental matrices are ribonucleic acid (RNA) and polyphosphate (polyP), which are, respectively, organic

New article in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry by Moller, Sakhno, Aristilde, Blake, and Jaisi

TITLE: Evolution of Oxygen Isotopologues in Phosphate and Pyrophosphate during Enzyme-Catalyzed Isotopic Exchange Reactions –ABSTRACT: Inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the phosphoanhydride bond in pyrophosphate (PPi) to release inorganic phosphate (Pi) and simultaneously exchange