Rogier Braakman
@rogierbraakman.bsky.social
Studying metabolic evolution, microbial macroevolution, biospheric self-organization, and the feedbacks between Earth and life. Dad, Husband, Scientist.
https://rogierbraakman.com/
https://rogierbraakman.com/
Pinned
The chitin raft hypothesis for the colonization of the open ocean by cyanobacteria | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
It is often assumed planktonic cyanobacteria existed in Precambrian oceans, but that
their productivity was constrained. However, available evidence suggests picocyanobacteria
only colonized the open ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
New paper out! In it i review the context and implications of the "chitin raft hypothesis" for how cyanobacteria colonized the open ocean.
Included is a new perspective on why there were two major stages of atmospheric oxygenation over Earth history.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Included is a new perspective on why there were two major stages of atmospheric oxygenation over Earth history.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Huge paper for the Arctic Ocean published today in @science.org - a new 30,000 year history of Arctic Ocean sea-ice cover reconstructed from the accumulation of cosmic dust-derived helium-3! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (1/n)
Cosmic dust reveals dynamic shifts in central Arctic sea-ice coverage over the past 30,000 years
Arctic sea-ice loss affects biological productivity, sustenance in coastal communities, and geopolitics. Forecasting these impacts requires mechanistic understanding of how Arctic sea ice responds to ...
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Huge paper for the Arctic Ocean published today in @science.org - a new 30,000 year history of Arctic Ocean sea-ice cover reconstructed from the accumulation of cosmic dust-derived helium-3! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (1/n)
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
📣New preprint alert!
Check out this new preprint by Zhu et al. that quantifies and compares labile exometabolites from six axenic strains of marine phytoplankton 🌊 to identify key chemical currencies within the marine chemical-microbial network! 🧪🦠
Check out this new preprint by Zhu et al. that quantifies and compares labile exometabolites from six axenic strains of marine phytoplankton 🌊 to identify key chemical currencies within the marine chemical-microbial network! 🧪🦠
Super excited to be part of this beautiful effort led by @zhuyt0515.bsky.social and Hanna Anderson!
A true team effort to characterize diversity in phytoplankton-excreted metabolites and identify key chemical currencies within the ocean ecosystem and carbon cycle
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A true team effort to characterize diversity in phytoplankton-excreted metabolites and identify key chemical currencies within the ocean ecosystem and carbon cycle
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Characterization of Phytoplankton-Excreted Metabolites Mediating Carbon Flux through the Surface Ocean
The marine labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool is a dynamic reservoir of thousands of molecules that cycles approximately one-quarter of Earth primary production within days to weeks. After exc...
www.biorxiv.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:11 PM
📣New preprint alert!
Check out this new preprint by Zhu et al. that quantifies and compares labile exometabolites from six axenic strains of marine phytoplankton 🌊 to identify key chemical currencies within the marine chemical-microbial network! 🧪🦠
Check out this new preprint by Zhu et al. that quantifies and compares labile exometabolites from six axenic strains of marine phytoplankton 🌊 to identify key chemical currencies within the marine chemical-microbial network! 🧪🦠
Super excited to be part of this beautiful effort led by @zhuyt0515.bsky.social and Hanna Anderson!
A true team effort to characterize diversity in phytoplankton-excreted metabolites and identify key chemical currencies within the ocean ecosystem and carbon cycle
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A true team effort to characterize diversity in phytoplankton-excreted metabolites and identify key chemical currencies within the ocean ecosystem and carbon cycle
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Characterization of Phytoplankton-Excreted Metabolites Mediating Carbon Flux through the Surface Ocean
The marine labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool is a dynamic reservoir of thousands of molecules that cycles approximately one-quarter of Earth primary production within days to weeks. After exc...
www.biorxiv.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Super excited to be part of this beautiful effort led by @zhuyt0515.bsky.social and Hanna Anderson!
A true team effort to characterize diversity in phytoplankton-excreted metabolites and identify key chemical currencies within the ocean ecosystem and carbon cycle
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A true team effort to characterize diversity in phytoplankton-excreted metabolites and identify key chemical currencies within the ocean ecosystem and carbon cycle
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
📣#MTTM
Mariana Torres (martorres.bsky.social) is a C-CoMP B2P Fellow working with @rogierbraakman.bsky.social @mit.edu. Using computational methods, they are investigating environmental drivers of carbon cycle metabolism dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean 🌊.
Mariana Torres (martorres.bsky.social) is a C-CoMP B2P Fellow working with @rogierbraakman.bsky.social @mit.edu. Using computational methods, they are investigating environmental drivers of carbon cycle metabolism dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean 🌊.
September 29, 2025 at 3:32 PM
📣#MTTM
Mariana Torres (martorres.bsky.social) is a C-CoMP B2P Fellow working with @rogierbraakman.bsky.social @mit.edu. Using computational methods, they are investigating environmental drivers of carbon cycle metabolism dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean 🌊.
Mariana Torres (martorres.bsky.social) is a C-CoMP B2P Fellow working with @rogierbraakman.bsky.social @mit.edu. Using computational methods, they are investigating environmental drivers of carbon cycle metabolism dynamics in the North Atlantic Ocean 🌊.
New paper out! In it i review the context and implications of the "chitin raft hypothesis" for how cyanobacteria colonized the open ocean.
Included is a new perspective on why there were two major stages of atmospheric oxygenation over Earth history.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Included is a new perspective on why there were two major stages of atmospheric oxygenation over Earth history.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
The chitin raft hypothesis for the colonization of the open ocean by cyanobacteria | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
It is often assumed planktonic cyanobacteria existed in Precambrian oceans, but that
their productivity was constrained. However, available evidence suggests picocyanobacteria
only colonized the open ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
August 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
New paper out! In it i review the context and implications of the "chitin raft hypothesis" for how cyanobacteria colonized the open ocean.
Included is a new perspective on why there were two major stages of atmospheric oxygenation over Earth history.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Included is a new perspective on why there were two major stages of atmospheric oxygenation over Earth history.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Assessing cellular metabolic dynamics with NAD(P)H fluorescence polarization imaging https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.28.667273v1
August 1, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Assessing cellular metabolic dynamics with NAD(P)H fluorescence polarization imaging https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.28.667273v1
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Our latest, and the second paper led by Jordan Coelho this year. Want to remove bacteria from POM for single-cell microbiology/culturing/'omics applications? We've got some data:
Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles
Marine particles, typically composed of organic detritus and cellular debris, harbor microbial communities that are distinct from the planktonic, or free-living, communities in the pelagic ocean. Howe...
www.biorxiv.org
July 16, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Our latest, and the second paper led by Jordan Coelho this year. Want to remove bacteria from POM for single-cell microbiology/culturing/'omics applications? We've got some data:
Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Detergent-based separation of microbes from marine particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs 🌊
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Job alert! We have a postdoc position available in the Stelkens Lab at Stockholm University. Join us and apply experimental evolution and comparative genomics in the model system yeast to test for parallel climate adaptation. Apply through this link: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/... Deadline 15 August.
June 30, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Job alert! We have a postdoc position available in the Stelkens Lab at Stockholm University. Join us and apply experimental evolution and comparative genomics in the model system yeast to test for parallel climate adaptation. Apply through this link: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/... Deadline 15 August.
This looks very cool - congrats!
Our latest, lead by @ahoiching.bsky.social, uncovering physiological vulnerabilities and helping to explain growth rate limitation in SAR11.
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs
Cell cycle dysregulation of globally important SAR11 bacteria resulting from environmental perturbation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs
June 26, 2025 at 2:15 PM
This looks very cool - congrats!
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
A new paper in Nature Ecol & Evol by
@rosafernandez.bsky.social et al. shows a #punctuated burst of genome evolution in #annelids as they transitioned from marine to land and freshwater habitats.
@rosafernandez.bsky.social et al. shows a #punctuated burst of genome evolution in #annelids as they transitioned from marine to land and freshwater habitats.
June 18, 2025 at 11:07 AM
A new paper in Nature Ecol & Evol by
@rosafernandez.bsky.social et al. shows a #punctuated burst of genome evolution in #annelids as they transitioned from marine to land and freshwater habitats.
@rosafernandez.bsky.social et al. shows a #punctuated burst of genome evolution in #annelids as they transitioned from marine to land and freshwater habitats.
‼️I'm looking for a postdoc‼️ Come join effort in using metagenomes to quantify microbial catabolic potential and carbon substrate availability at the ecosystem level. We seek to understand evolutionary forces shaping the carbon cycle. Part of ccomp-stc.org
careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...
careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...
Postdoctoral Associate
MIT - Postdoctoral Associate - Cambridge MA 02139
careers.peopleclick.com
June 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
‼️I'm looking for a postdoc‼️ Come join effort in using metagenomes to quantify microbial catabolic potential and carbon substrate availability at the ecosystem level. We seek to understand evolutionary forces shaping the carbon cycle. Part of ccomp-stc.org
careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...
careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
New preprint is out where we report a new obligate (?) methylotrophic bacteria with diel cycle of methanol dehydrogenase transcription in surface seawater, with implications for marine lanthanide and carbon cycling. Where the methanol comes from is a mystery! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 12, 2025 at 1:24 PM
New preprint is out where we report a new obligate (?) methylotrophic bacteria with diel cycle of methanol dehydrogenase transcription in surface seawater, with implications for marine lanthanide and carbon cycling. Where the methanol comes from is a mystery! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Excited to give a virtual seminar in the NASA LIFE RCN series next Tuesday June 10th, at 8am PST/11am EST.
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
2025 LIFE RCN Seminar Series Episode 1: Dr. Rogier Braakman — LIFE Research Coordination Network
On June 10th, 2025, at 8AM PDT/11AM EDT, the LIFE RCN will be excited to introduce Dr. Rogier Braakman, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an adjunct scientist at Th...
www.lifercn.org
June 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Excited to give a virtual seminar in the NASA LIFE RCN series next Tuesday June 10th, at 8am PST/11am EST.
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
Great opportunity to awesome science!
We have a new 3-year postdoc position in our group at the @hifmb.de to study plasmids and plasmids systems of the marine environment to survey their utility in microbial responses to environmental change.
Please see the official job ad here, and spread the word:
jobs.awi.de/Vacancies/20...
Please see the official job ad here, and spread the word:
jobs.awi.de/Vacancies/20...
PostDoc in ecology and evolution of plasmids in polar waters at HIFMB (f/d/m)
Layout AWI HIPP extern, englisch
jobs.awi.de
June 5, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Great opportunity to awesome science!
Excited to give a virtual seminar in the NASA LIFE RCN series next Tuesday June 10th, at 8am PST/11am EST.
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
2025 LIFE RCN Seminar Series Episode 1: Dr. Rogier Braakman — LIFE Research Coordination Network
On June 10th, 2025, at 8AM PDT/11AM EDT, the LIFE RCN will be excited to introduce Dr. Rogier Braakman, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an adjunct scientist at Th...
www.lifercn.org
June 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Excited to give a virtual seminar in the NASA LIFE RCN series next Tuesday June 10th, at 8am PST/11am EST.
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
I'll be talking about the Chitin Raft Hypothesis and the rise of planktonic marine cyanobacteria.
🧪🦠⚒️🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
www.lifercn.org/events/2025-...
Revamped pre-print with updated title: The chitin raft hypothesis for the colonization of the open ocean by cyanobacteria.
In this paper i discuss the broader context and implications of the hypothesis.
🧪🦠⚒️🌍🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
eartharxiv.org/repository/v...
In this paper i discuss the broader context and implications of the hypothesis.
🧪🦠⚒️🌍🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
eartharxiv.org/repository/v...
The chitin raft hypothesis for the colonization of the open ocean by cyanobacteria
eartharxiv.org
June 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Revamped pre-print with updated title: The chitin raft hypothesis for the colonization of the open ocean by cyanobacteria.
In this paper i discuss the broader context and implications of the hypothesis.
🧪🦠⚒️🌍🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
eartharxiv.org/repository/v...
In this paper i discuss the broader context and implications of the hypothesis.
🧪🦠⚒️🌍🌐 #Paleobio #MEvoSky #MicroSky
eartharxiv.org/repository/v...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Our latest, led by @jameswclark.bsky.social of @milnerevolution.bsky.social shows that the notorious mismatch between molecular and palaeontological estimates for the timing of origin of angiosperms is a consequence of equivocal interpretation of their fossil record @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Uncertainty in the timing of diversification of flowering plants rests with equivocal interpretation of their fossil record | Royal Society Open Science
The timing of the origin of crown-angiosperms exemplifies the impact of competing
approaches to establishing evolutionary timescales. Fossils of unequivocal crown-angiosperms
are not known from before...
royalsocietypublishing.org
May 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Our latest, led by @jameswclark.bsky.social of @milnerevolution.bsky.social shows that the notorious mismatch between molecular and palaeontological estimates for the timing of origin of angiosperms is a consequence of equivocal interpretation of their fossil record @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
June 2, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Fascinating! I have always wondered about how to think about the impact of gradual vs punctuated evolutionary dynamics on (my interest is particularly microbial) phylogenetic clock models. This paper seems to offer a general framework for doing so
Douglas et al. shows that up to 99% of evolutionary change occur at branching points across genes, morphology, and language. A major step for punctuated evolution, aligning with our goal of a unified framework. @nilese.bsky.social @andrejpaleo.bsky.social #EvoBio #CultEvo doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
Evolution is coupled with branching across many granularities of life | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Across many scales of life, the rate of evolutionary change is often accelerated at the time when one lineage splits into two. The emergence of novel protein function can be facilitated by gene duplication (neofunctionalization); rapid morphological ...
doi.org
May 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Fascinating! I have always wondered about how to think about the impact of gradual vs punctuated evolutionary dynamics on (my interest is particularly microbial) phylogenetic clock models. This paper seems to offer a general framework for doing so
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Want to learn more about #kelp distributions and environmental parameters? Check out our paper led by Aaron Eger and Georgina Wood) and app - An Environmental Niche Exploration Tool for Kelp Forest Management onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... & www.kelpee.info
An Environmental Niche Exploration Tool for Kelp Forest Management
The kelp niche explorer is a tool which allows users to understand the optimal environmental conditions for kelp forest conservation at the regional level. The tool is adaptable and provides an easy ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Want to learn more about #kelp distributions and environmental parameters? Check out our paper led by Aaron Eger and Georgina Wood) and app - An Environmental Niche Exploration Tool for Kelp Forest Management onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... & www.kelpee.info
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
This paper led by @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social was fun to participate in: The global spectrum of tree crown architecture, www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Now online!
The global spectrum of tree crown architecture - Nature Communications
Trees come in all shapes and size, but what drives this incredible variation in tree form remains poorly understood. Using a global dataset, the authors show that a combination of climate, competition...
www.nature.com
May 27, 2025 at 9:54 AM
This paper led by @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social was fun to participate in: The global spectrum of tree crown architecture, www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Now online!
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Now published in PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
May 23, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Now published in PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Breakthrough paper from Emily Zakem & co on understanding heterotrophic marine microbes. Introduces concept of “slopiotrophs”, ie “slow copiotrophs” (we generally think of copiotrophs as fast growing) which degrade more recalcitrant forms of organic carbon at depth
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Functional biogeography of marine microbial heterotrophs
Heterotrophic bacteria and archaea (“heteroprokaryotes”) drive global carbon cycling, but how to quantitatively organize their functional complexity remains unclear. We generated a global-scale unders...
www.science.org
May 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Breakthrough paper from Emily Zakem & co on understanding heterotrophic marine microbes. Introduces concept of “slopiotrophs”, ie “slow copiotrophs” (we generally think of copiotrophs as fast growing) which degrade more recalcitrant forms of organic carbon at depth
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
🚨New paper alert!🚨
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
Supplemental Feeding as a Driver of Population Expansion and Morphological Change in Anna's Hummingbirds
Bird beaks are highly adaptable, with the potential to undergo rapid morphological shifts in response to environmental change such as climatic variation or food availability. Anna's Hummingbirds (Cal...
dx.doi.org
May 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
🚨New paper alert!🚨
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
We show that hummingbird beaks have changed in shape & size since around WWII, driven by the rise of commercialized feeders! 🧵
📄 Paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
#ornithology #evolution #GlobalChangeBiology
Reposted by Rogier Braakman
Come postdoc in Oslo! 3 years. You design the project! Get in touch with me or others at our museum! Deadline 23 june www.jobbnorge.no/en/available... share and repost !
Postdoctoral Fellow: Self-Developed Project (280531) | University of Oslo
Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow: Self-Developed Project (280531), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Monday, June 23, 2025
www.jobbnorge.no
May 20, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Come postdoc in Oslo! 3 years. You design the project! Get in touch with me or others at our museum! Deadline 23 june www.jobbnorge.no/en/available... share and repost !