Updated on 2026/04/28

写真a

 
MCGLYNN SHAWN
 
Organization
Institute of Future Science Earth-Life Science Institute Associate Professor
Title
Associate Professor
Profile

I am interested in understanding how energy organizes matter in biological and (pre)- biological processes. I want to understand how electron flow, bond energy, and reaction mechanisms drive molecular organization and isotope fractionation: What are the protein complexes? What are the reaction mechanisms? Where do they occur in the cell? What are the physiological meanings of cellular neighborhoods, and how can we measure and describe cellular individuality?

I want to understand how life works today and to try and connect this knowledge to how life began. My research interests blend a background in metalloenzyme biochemistry with vanguard microbiology developments that are just now allowing the prospect of illuminating cellular individuality.

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Degree

  • PhD Biochemistry ( - Montana State University )

Research History

  • Tokyo Institute of Technology --> Institute of Science Tokyo   Earth-Life Science Institute   Associate Professor

    2016.4

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    Country:Japan

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Papers

  • Carbon Reduction Powered by Natural Electrochemical Gradients under Submarine Hydrothermal Vent Conditions Reviewed

    T. Altair, E. Dragoti, V. Sojo, Y. Li, S. Skiffington, W.A. Sullivan, G.T. Drozd, S.E. McGlynn, D. Galante, H. Varela, R. Hudson

    Journal of the American Chemical Society   147 ( 32 )   28674 - 28683   2025.7

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    Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher:American Chemical Society (ACS)  

    DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c01948

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  • PCR bias in 16S rRNA genes caused by GC content leads to insufficient detection of some abundant species in amplicon sequencing analyses of thermophilic microbial communities Reviewed

    Shigeru Kawai, Katsumi Matsuura, Shawn Erin McGlynn

    The Journal of General and Applied Microbiology   2025.5

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    Authorship:Last author   Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher:Microbiology Research Foundation  

    DOI: 10.2323/jgam.2025.04.003

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  • Chemical Characterization of Organosulfur Compounds in Aerosols from Archean-Analog Photochemistry: Insights from Liquid Chromatography and High-Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry

    Christensen, C.M., Surratt, J.D., Reed, N.W., Tolbert, M.A., Browne, E.C., Wing, B.A., McGlynn, S.E.

    ACS Earth and Space Chemistry   9 ( 3 )   2025

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    Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)  

    DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.4c00314

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  • Metabolic Potential and Microbial Diversity of Late Archean to Early Proterozoic Ocean Analog Hot Springs of Japan.

    Fatima Li-Hau, Mayuko Nakagawa, Takeshi Kakegawa, L M Ward, Yuichiro Ueno, Shawn Erin McGlynn

    Microbes and environments   40 ( 3 )   2025

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    Authorship:Last author, Corresponding author   Language:English   Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)  

    Circumneutral iron-rich hot springs may represent analogues of Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic oceans of early Earth, potentially providing windows into ancient microbial ecology. Here we sampled five Japanese hot springs to gain insights into functional processes and taxonomic diversity in these analog environments. Amplicon and metagenomic sequencing confirm a hypothesis where taxonomy is distinct between sites and linked to the geochemical setting. Metabolic functions shared among the springs include carbon fixation via the reductive pentose phosphate cycle, nitrogen fixation, and dissimilatory iron oxidation/reduction. Among the sites, Kowakubi was unique in that it was dominated by Hydrogenophilaceae, a group known for performing hydrogen oxidation, motivating a hypothesis that H2 as an electron donor may shape community composition even in the presence of abundant ferrous iron. Evidence for nitrogen cycling across the springs included N2 fixation, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA), and denitrification. The low-salinity springs Furutobe and OHK lacked evidence for ammonium oxidation by ammonia monooxygenase, but evidence for complete nitrification existed at Kowakubi, Jinata, and Tsubakiyama. In most sites, the microaerophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria from the Zetaproteobacteria or Gammaproteobacteria classes had higher relative abundances than Cyanobacteria. Microaerophilic iron oxidizers may outcompete abiotic Fe oxidation, while being fueled by oxy-phototrophic Cyanobacteria. Our data provide a foundation for considering which factors may have controlled productivity and elemental cycling as Earth's oceans became oxygenated at the onset of the Great Oxidation Event.

    DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.ME24067

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  • Single-cell metabolic flux analysis reveals coexisting optimal sub-groups, cross-feeding, and mixotrophy in a cyanobacterial population

    Arián Ferrero-Fernández, Paula Prondzinsky, Lucia Gastoldi, David A. Fike, Harrison B. Smith, Daniele De Martino, Andrea De Martino, Shawn Erin McGlynn

    2025

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    Publisher:arXiv  

    We derive a single-cell level understanding of metabolism in an isogenic cyanobacterial population by integrating secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) derived multi-isotope uptake measurements of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 with a statistical inference protocol based on Liebig's law of the minimum, the maximum entropy principle, and constraint-based modeling. We find the population is structured in two metabolically distinct clusters: cells optimizing carbon yield while excessively turning over nitrogen, and cells which act reciprocally, optimizing nitrogen yield and excessively turning over carbon. This partition enables partial heterotrophy within the population via metabolic exchange, likely in the form of organic acids. Exchange increases the feasible metabolic space, and mixotrophic cells achieve the fastest growth rates. Metabolic flux analysis at the single-cell level reveals heterogeneity in carbon fixation rates, Rubisco specificity, and nitrogen assimilation. Our results provide a necessary foundation for understanding how population level phenotypes arise from the collective contributions of distinct individuals.

    DOI: 10.48550/ARXIV.2506.05916

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  • Hydrogen Generation From Ferrous Saponite in Reaction With H2S‐Containing Fluid: Relevance to Early Martian Habitability

    Natsumi Noda, Yasuhito Sekine, Yoshio Takahashi, Keisuke Fukushi, Hiroshi Sakuma, Takahiro Kawai, Mayuko Nakagawa, Norio Kitadai, Kristin Johnson‐Finn, Shawn Erin McGlynn

    Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets   130 ( 1 )   2024.12

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    Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher:American Geophysical Union (AGU)  

    Abstract

    Molecular hydrogen is an important gas species for understanding the early Martian climate and redox chemistry. Through ancient aqueous alterations of crustal rocks, ferrous (Fe(II)) saponite formed abundantly on Mars. Subsequent intrusions of hydrothermal fluids may have resulted in a chemical reaction between the dissolved volatiles and the nearby rocks. Here we propose a new H2 generating reaction between ferrous saponite and H2S‐containing fluids, which is possible on early Mars. A series of hydrothermal experiments at a relatively low temperature of 90°C were performed under anoxic conditions using synthesized ferrous saponite to compare the resulting H2 concentration among various gas and fluid compositions. Based on the relationship with the existence of H2S, reaction time, fluid pH, dissolved iron concentration, and amount of minerals, we found that high levels of H2 (∼0.1 mmol/g ferrous saponite) were generated in the presence of H2S most rapidly in moderate pH conditions. Our microscopic chemical analysis of mineral phases suggested that ferrous saponite served as both the iron source of pyrite precipitation and the electron source to form H2. Our results suggest that intrusions of H2S‐containing fluids into the saponite‐containing crust of Mars would generate H2, which could potentially provide locally concentrated chemical energy for chemoautotrophic life.

    DOI: 10.1029/2024je008538

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  • Abiotic Production of Dimethyl Sulfide, Carbonyl Sulfide, and Other Organosulfur Gases via Photochemistry: Implications for Biosignatures and Metabolic Potential

    Nathan W. Reed, Randall L. Shearer, Shawn Erin McGlynn, Boswell A. Wing, Margaret A. Tolbert, Eleanor C. Browne

    Astrophysical Journal Letters   973 ( 2 )   2024.10

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    Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)  

    DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad74da

    Scopus

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  • Osmotic energy conversion in serpentinite-hosted deep-sea hydrothermal vents

    Hye-Eun Lee, Tomoyo Okumura, Hideshi Ooka, Kiyohiro Adachi, Takaaki Hikima, Kunio Hirata, Yoshiaki Kawano, Hiroaki Matsuura, Masaki Yamamoto, Masahiro Yamamoto, Akira Yamaguchi, Ji-Eun Lee, Hiroya Takahashi, Ki Tae Nam, Yasuhiko Ohara, Daisuke Hashizume, Shawn Erin McGlynn, Ryuhei Nakamura

    Nature Communications   15 ( 1 )   2024.9

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    Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher:Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52332-3

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    Other Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52332-3

  • Primitive purine biosynthesis connects ancient geochemistry to modern metabolism. International journal

    Joshua E Goldford, Harrison B Smith, Liam M Longo, Boswell A Wing, Shawn Erin McGlynn

    Nature ecology & evolution   8 ( 5 )   999 - 1009   2024.5

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    Authorship:Last author, Corresponding author   Language:English   Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)  

    An unresolved question in the origin and evolution of life is whether a continuous path from geochemical precursors to the majority of molecules in the biosphere can be reconstructed from modern-day biochemistry. Here we identified a feasible path by simulating the evolution of biosphere-scale metabolism, using only known biochemical reactions and models of primitive coenzymes. We find that purine synthesis constitutes a bottleneck for metabolic expansion, which can be alleviated by non-autocatalytic phosphoryl coupling agents. Early phases of the expansion are enriched with enzymes that are metal dependent and structurally symmetric, supporting models of early biochemical evolution. This expansion trajectory suggests distinct hypotheses regarding the tempo, mode and timing of metabolic pathway evolution, including a late appearance of methane metabolisms and oxygenic photosynthesis consistent with the geochemical record. The concordance between biological and geological analyses suggests that this trajectory provides a plausible evolutionary history for the vast majority of core biochemistry.

    DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02361-4

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  • Magnesium silicate chimneys at the Strytan hydrothermal field, Iceland, as analogues for prebiotic chemistry at alkaline submarine hydrothermal vents on the early Earth

    Guti{\'e}rrez-Ariza, C., Huertas, F.J., Sainz-D{\'i}az, C.I., Cartwright, J.H.E., Barge, L.M., Ding, Y., Cardoso, S.S.S., McGlynn, S.E., Nakamura, R., Giovanelli, D., Lee, H.E., Price, R.

    Progress in Earth and Planetary Science   11 ( 1 )   2024.2

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    Language:English   Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)  

    DOI: 10.1186/s40645-023-00603-w

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  • Rapid hydrolysis rates of thio- and phosphate esters constrain the origin of metabolism to cool, acidic to neutral environments International journal

    Sanden, S.A., Butch, C.J., Bartlett, S., Virgo, N., Sekine, Y., McGlynn, S.E.

    Iscience   27 ( 11 )   111088 - 111088   2024

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    Authorship:Last author, Corresponding author   Language:English   Publishing type:Research paper (scientific journal)  

    DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111088

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Presentations

  • Metabolic Variability Within Populations and Across Cell Types. Invited

    Shawn McGlynn

    Universal Biology Institute, University of Tokyo  2024.7 

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    Presentation type:Oral presentation (invited, special)  

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  • Network Expansion as a Pathfinding Algorithm in Multi-Step Chemical Transformations Invited

    Electrosynthesis: Light, life, and materials perspective. Seoul National University  2024.6 

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    Presentation type:Oral presentation (invited, special)  

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  • Microbial population structure from nanoSIMS data with statistical influence Invited

    Shawn McGlynn

    Thermal Biology Institute Seminar Series  2025.2 

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  • Revisiting early metabolic evolution with network expansion Invited

    Shawn McGlynn

    QED Seminar, CU Boulder  2025.2 

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  • Bioenergetic basis for altered ancient S and P requirements in emerging metabolism Invited

    Shawn McGlynn

    JSBBA  2025.4 

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  • How was group transfer potential used in emerging metabolism? Invited

    Shawn McGlynn

    OIST Seminar Series  2025.5 

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Awards

  • CIRES Visiting Fellowship Award

    2024   Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder  

    Shawn McGlynn

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