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How do diverse biological sensory and regulatory mechanisms integrate dynamic environmental signals for adaptation and survival in fluctuating environments?

• Our working hypothesis is that transcription factors and posttranscriptional effectors work in concert via a complex network to manifest emergent properties which bring about the appropriate response to changing conditions to enable survival.
• To test this, we study archaeal extremophiles using systems approaches to characterize the regulation of cellular physiology in response to varying environmental stressors encountered at the limits of sustainable life.
• Ultimately, we aim to develop transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory network models for the quantitative prediction of induced phenotypic changes at these extremes.
• Research toward these goals will lay the foundation for rational re-engineering of cellular physiology for desired outcomes such as targeted industrial, environmental and medical purposes.