Dr Brendan Burns
	Bsc (Hons) PhD
	Adjunct Lecturer
	Room No:	344
	Office:	Cyanobacteria and Astrobiology Research Laboratory, Level 3, Biological Sciences Building
	Phone:	9385 3659
	Fax:	9385 1591
	Email:	brendan.burns@unsw.edu.au

Research Description:

My research work forms the basis for an ARC Fellowship which I was an awarded, and involves studying the microbial diversity of the extant stromatolites of Shark Bay, Australia. The fossilised examples of stromatolites may be the oldest known evidence of life on Earth, and today in only a few places stromatolites still survive and have size, shape and interior structures similar to that of the ancient examples. Thus modern stromatolites are a significant resource for studying the origin and evolution of life. Today, the only known examples of stromatolites presently forming in marine environments of hypersalinity are in Western Australia. Despite their evolutionary significance, little is known about their associated microbial communities. Employing a polyphasic approach of culture and culture-independent methods, we will characterise these communities. Beginning with cataloguing the microbial community present, these studies turn to determining the function of microorganisms in this habitat, elucidating how individual and combined physiologies contribute to stromatolite morphogenesis. The findings and implications from this study impact on a wide range of areas, including fields such as microbial ecology and physiology, molecular biology, combinatorial biosynthesis, evolution, and geology, all encompassing the emerging discipline of astrobiology. This will provide us with a better understanding of modern stromatolite formation, and may even allow us to develop more plausible scenarios for the origin of life.

Selected Publications:

Other Professional Activities:

Memberships: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Australian Society for Microbiology, American Society for Microbiology, Australian Centre for Astrobiology. Consultant for Department of Land and Water Conservation and Sydney Water.