arXiv subjects

Jillian F. Banfield

Publications and source records attributed to Jillian F. Banfield.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hydration-controlled twist forms a moiré glass in charge-frustrated layered silicates

Twisting layered materials produces moiré superlattices, but prescribed twist angles are usually obtained by demanding assembly procedures. Here we show that montmorillonite, an abundant swelling clay, forms tunable moiré superlattices naturally. Focal-series high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, geometric phase analysis, and molecular dynamics simulation reveal that its apparent rotational disorder is biased toward low-angle misorientations inherited from discrete hydration states. Multilayer stacks preferentially adopt twists near 1-2°, 4°, and 10°, producing long-wavelength moirés without long-range rotational order. We define this kinetically trapped state as a moiré glass, distinct from featureless turbostratic stacking. Simulations indicate that lattice-charge disorder stabilizes the angular preferences, whereas charge ordering promotes random stacking. Hydration screens interlayer interactions and lubricates twist, while dehydration arrests the resulting configurations in discrete steps. These results establish dynamic hydration as a macroscopic handle for programming twist in layered matter.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Habitat transition in the evolution of bacteria and archaea

Related groups of microbes are widely distributed across Earth's habitats, implying numerous dispersal and adaptation events over evolutionary time. However, to date, relatively little is known about the characteristics and mechanisms of these habitat transitions, particularly for populations that reside in animal microbiomes. Here, we review the existing literature concerning habitat transitions among a variety of bacterial and archaeal lineages, considering the frequency of migration events, potential environmental barriers, and mechanisms of adaptation to new physicochemical conditions, including the modification of protein inventories and other genomic characteristics. Cells dependent on microbial hosts, particularly bacteria from the Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR), have undergone repeated habitat transitions from environmental sources into animal microbiomes. We compare their trajectories to those of both free-living cells - including the Melainabacteria, Elusimicrobia, and methanogenic archaea - as well as cellular endosymbionts and bacteriophages, which have made similar transitions. We conclude by highlighting major related topics that may be worthy of future study.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2021

Diverse ATPase proteins in mobilomes constitute a large potential sink for prokaryotic host ATP

Prokaryote mobilome genomes rely on host machineries for survival and replication. Given that mobile genetic elements (MGEs) derive their energy from host cells, we investigated the diversity of ATP-utilizing proteins in MGE genomes to determine whether they might be associated with proteins that could suppress related host proteins that consume host energy. A comprehensive search of 353 huge phage genomes revealed that up to 9% of the proteins have ATPase domains. For example, ATPase proteins constitute ~3% of the genomes of Lak phages with ~550 kbp genomes that occur in the microbiomes of humans and other animals. Statistical analysis shows the number of ATPase proteins increases linearly with genome length, consistent with a large sink for host ATP during replication of megaphages. Using metagenomic data from diverse environments, we found 505 mobilome proteins with ATPase domains fused to diverse functional domains. Among these composite ATPase proteins, 61.6% have known functional domains that could contribute to host energy diversion during the mobilome life cycle. As many have domains that are known to interact with nucleic acids and proteins, we infer that numerous ATPase proteins are used during replication and for protection from host immune systems. We found a set of uncharacterized ATPase proteins with nuclease and protease activities, displaying unique domain architectures that are energy intensive based on the presence of multiple ATPase domains. In many cases, these composite ATPase proteins genomically co-localize with small proteins in genomic contexts that are reminiscent of toxin-antitoxin systems. Small proteins that function as inhibitors may be a common strategy for control of cellular processes, thus could inspire the development of new nucleic acid and protein manipulation tools, with diverse biotechnological applications.

q-bio.PE↗

arXiv2020

Dynamic clay microstructures emerge via ion complexation waves

Clays control carbon, water and nutrient transport in the lithosphere, promote cloud formation5 and lubricate fault slip through interactions among hydrated mineral interfaces. Clay mineral properties are difficult to model because their structures are disordered, curved and dynamic. Consequently, interactions at the clay mineral-aqueous interface have been approximated using electric double layer models based on single crystals of mica and atomistic simulations. We discover that waves of complexation dipoles at dynamically curving interfaces create an emergent long-range force that drives exfoliation and restacking over time- and length-scales that are not captured in existing models. Curvature delocalizes electrostatic interactions in ways that fundamentally differ from planar surfaces, altering the ratio of ions bound to the convex and concave sides of a layer. Multiple-scattering reconstruction of low-dose energy-filtered cryo electron tomography enabled direct imaging of ion complexes and electrolyte distributions at hydrated and curved mineral interfaces with ångstrom resolution over micron length scales. Layers exfoliate and restack abruptly and repeatedly over timescales that depend strongly on the counterion identity, demonstrating that the strong coupling between elastic, electrostatic and hydration forces in clays promote collective reorganization previously thought to be a feature only of active matter.

cond-mat.soft↗