NASA ASTROBIOLOGY INSTITUTE VIRUS FOCUS GROUP

PROPOSAL FOR RENEWAL

Submitted for the meeting of the NAI Executive Council Meeting, San
Francisco

December 7, 2003

by

Co-Chairs Kenneth Stedman, Portland State University, Portland, OR,
(<kstedman@pdx.edu>), and Baruch S. Blumberg, NASA Fundamental Space
Biology, Ames Research Center, CA, (<bs_blumberg@fccc.edu>)

> This application for renewal is submitted using the format described
> in the NAI webpage entitled "NASA Astrobiology Institute Focus Groups"
> (revised 11/07/03). **We are requesting renewal of the Focus Group for
> an additional 2 or, if possible, 3 years.**

I.  **Brief background and proposed future activities:**

    a.  **Background**: The purpose of the NAI Virus Focus Group,
        founded in September 2002, is to study the role of viruses in
        astrobiology. It addresses the question of how these infectious
        agents that are extremely widely distributed and abundant on and
        in contemporary Earth were involved in the origin and early
        periods of life on Earth and elsewhere.

    b.  We propose a workshop/field trip to take place within the next 6
        to 10 months. (Possible locations are the Mono Lake and Mammoth
        Lake regions in eastern CA.) It will be, in effect, a
        collaborative research project including Focus Group members
        (and others) who require material collected on the field trip
        for their research. We will also invite prominent virologists
        and microbiologists not currently directly involved in
        astrobiology to take part in the project in order to introduce
        them to the excitement of the program. Participants will have
        different observational and experimental methods and different
        hypotheses to test. Since many of the observations will be made
        on specimens collected in the same place, and on some of the
        same specimens it will be possible for those who wish to do so
        to combine their data for more complex meta-analyses. The
        collected samples will be archived for future use.

    c.  We propose two Focus Group meetings. One at the next
        Astrobiology Science Conference at NASA Ames Research Center
        (April 2004), and the second at the American Society for
        Virology annual meeting in Montreal, Canada (August 2004).

    d.  We propose that a symposium on viruses and astrobiology
        organized by members of the Virus Focus Group and others should
        be on the program of the forthcoming Astrobiology Science
        Conference (April 2004). A tentative program for this symposium
        is in preparation. Members of the Program Committee of the
        Conference have indicated their interest in this proposal.

    e.  We propose publishing the proceedings of the Virus Focus Group
        Workshop held in Portland, OR October 16-17, 2003 (see below) in
        the Journal "Astrobiology". The Editor, Dr. Cady has welcomed
        the submission of these papers. We expect to submit these by
        March 1, 2004 at the latest. Drafts of 4 reports have already
        been received.

II. **Relevance to the Astrobiology Roadmap** listed in the order given
    in the Astrobiology Roadmap brochure.

    a.  **Objective 2.1 Mars exploration.** If signatures of the
        presence of virus can be determined it would be appropriate to
        search for these on Mars or in returned material from Mars.
        Virus fossils have not been reported, but if they can be
        identified they would also be the subject for searches. Members
        of the focus group are investigating virus mineralization in the
        laboratory as evidence for the potential existence of these
        fossils.

    b.  **Objective 4.1 Earth's early biosphere.** Investigations
        similar to those described for Mars would be appropriate.

    c.  **Objective 4.2 Foundations of complex life.** Viruses may have
        appeared on Earth soon after the development of cells or
        conceivably, before the event if earlier forms of viruses could
        exist independent of cells. Evidence was presented at the recent
        workshop for virus types that may have pre-dated the split of
        the Eukarya, Archaea and Bacteria lineages.

    d.  **Objective 4.3 Effects of extraterrestrial events upon the
        biosphere.** The effect of impacts on microorganisms, including
        viruses, is a major theme for this objective. Virus persistence
        and stability are being tested by focus group members.

    e.  **Objective 5.1 Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in
        microorganisms.** Viruses would be included in the
        microorganisms studied, including bacteriophage, i.e., viruses
        of microorganisms. One research group in the focus group has
        this as the main focus of their research.

    f.  **Objective 5.2 Coevolution of microbial communities.** The role
        of viruses in microbial mats in different environments,
        particularly in lateral gene transfer.

    g.  **Objective 5.3 Biochemical adaptation to extreme
        environments.** The study of viruses from extreme environments
        under extreme conditions and, in particular, their ability to
        survive for very long periods of time is the focus of two
        research groups in the virus focus group.

    h.  **Objective 6.1 Environmental changes and the cycling of
        elements by the biota, communities, and ecosystems.** Viruses
        will be included among the life forms to be studies under these
        conditions of change. (See Objective 5.1).

    i.  **Objective 6.2 Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth.**
        Viruses are important life and life-accompanying forms that
        should be studied beyond their planet of origin. The effect of
        the space environment on acute and chronic viral infection of
        humans and other animals and plants is an important part of the
        humans in space program.

III. **Relevance to space missions and astrobiology technology
     development.** Decisions on future space missions will depend on
     future development of the field of viral astrobiology. This
     includes missions to Mars, Europa, and the other moons of Jupiter.
     The study of viruses in the ISS and on free flyers and the exposure
     of viruses to the space environment are additional programs.
     Technology will be required for the robotic collection of viral
     specimens in extreme environments on Earth, under the sea, and on
     other planets and moons. Technology for the *in situ* detection and
     identification of viruses will be required. This will also have
     significant medical applications. The study of viruses of
     extremophiles in animal and plant pathology will require new
     technology.

IV. **Why continuation of the Virus Focus Group would be valuable.** The
    field of viral astrobiology is in its infancy. Very little is known
    about the epidemiology of viruses in extreme environments, nor about
    their molecular biology, replication strategies, gene expression,
    and other characteristics. There have been few investigations of
    viruses in the space environment and their possible role in
    pathology in spacefarers. We have outlined above how virus studies
    fit within the Roadmap objectives; very few studies in this area
    have been accomplished. We envision the Virus Focus Group as a
    mechanism to focus attention on these issues and to conduct field
    trips and collaborative studies. In the future we intend to apply
    for research grants from the NIH and other agencies to fund virus
    research stimulated by the astrobiology endeavor.

V.  **Final Report for the first year.** The major activity for the
    first year has been a Virus Focus Group Workshop. The results are
    summarized below:

#### Report on the

#### NASA ASTROBIOLOGY INSTITUTE VIRUS FOCUS GROUP WORKSHOP 

The Simon Benson House, Portland State University, Portland OR

October 16-17, 2003

Ken Stedman, and Baruch Blumberg convened the first meeting of the NASA
Astrobiology Institute (NAI) Virus Focus Group at Portland State
University, October 16-17, 2003. An additional organizer of the meeting
was David Smith, of the NAI Team at the University of Rhode Island, who
was unable to attend.

**Ken Stedman** welcomed the participants. The program of the meeting, a
list of the attendees, and a list of the members of the Focus Group is
appended. **Baruch Blumberg** described the origin of the NAI Focus
Groups; they were initiated at a meeting of the NAI Executive Council at
NASA Ames Research Center on 12.18.99. The nature of the NAI Focus
Groups were not defined at that time with the expectation that each
Focus Group would determine its own character. The NAI Virus Focus Group
was approved on 09.09.02 at the Executive Council meeting at
Pennsylvania State University.

There are several interesting questions related to viruses and
astrobiology. Were viruses an early form of life on Earth? Could they
have preceded the origin of cells and survived, flourished and
replicated cell-free in an earlier form? Did viruses exist on early
Mars, or elsewhere away from Earth? If so, how could their presence be
detected? Is it possible to identify fossil viruses in the
paleontological record on Earth or other places? Are there geological
and/or geochemical signatures of viruses (that can exist in vast
quantities in even the most hostile of environments) that could be
detected with appropriate instruments? Viruses live in cells and many
integrate into the genome of their hosts. These could be transmitted to
subsequent generation in a manner similar to a mutation. Can viruses act
as important agents of evolution? If so, is this an ongoing program? If
an RNA world preceded the DNA world, were viruses involved in this
development?

A particularly interesting question relates to the survivability of
viruses in the space environment, a matter of interest to astrobiology
and fundamental space biology. Can viruses and their host cells and
organism survive in some form in the space environment and, in
particular, in the interior of objects such as meteorites. What is the
effect of the space environment on space farers chronically infected
with a virus? Will viruses that are normally not pathogenic become so
after long periods of time in space? These are issues of basic
scientific interest that relate to the problems of human space flight.

There has been a major interest in astrobiology on the study of
extremophiles, lifeforms that could have arisen and prevailed under the
demanding conditions of early earth and other objects in the cosmos. The
viruses of microorganisms -- phages -- often provide genes that are
important to the life cycle of their bacterial hosts. For example, a
phage is responsible for the toxins of the cholera vibrio. How common
are phages in extremophiles and what are their distribution, diversity
and other characteristics? Research on this topic was a major part of
the Focus Group workshop.

Many of these questions were considered in the workshop, either directly
or indirectly and the details of the presented papers will be given in
the final report. (**Sherry Cady** the editor of the journal
"Astrobiology", who attended the workshop and is a member of the Virus
Focus Group, and the NASA-Ames NAI has agreed to consider the final
report for publication.) A brief summary of the presentations will be
given here including information on field sites used by the
investigators. (See attached program.)

**Luis Ruedas** discussed the ecology and medical virology of the
Hantaan viruses and the effects on pathogenesis of the interaction of
the host, the virus, and the environment. There are very different
clinical manifestations depending on the local ecology. In some
environments and geographic locations the disease can be severe and in
others there are little or no clinical disadvantages. Host polymorphic
susceptibility genes influence many chronic infections; beneficial
effects to the host might be expected in some circumstances. Ruedas and
his colleagues examined the possible beneficial effects of long-term
infection with the virus on maximal aerobic capacity in infected
experimental mice and longevity in their natural environment. They also
determined that infection rates for Hanta viruses in humans were
decreased in ecologies where there is greater diversity in the putative
mammalian definitive hosts (i.e. mice and other rodentia). Fieldwork for
this project included the Four Corners region of the southwest USA, the
location for recent epidemic of Hantaan Virus infection, and other
sites, including Panama and greenspaces in Portland, OR.

**Paul Turner** studies the dynamics of evolution in bacteria, viruses
and other microorganisms. He is now directing his attention to the role
viruses and other gene transfer agents on the dynamics of evolution,
particularly the role of genetic reassortment or "sex" in viral fitness.
He and his colleagues are utilizing a field site on St. Lucia in the
Windward Islands of the Caribbean Sea where there are several geothermal
springs located near each other in a volcanic caldera. They provide an
opportunity for field observations on differences in evolutionary
directions in similar, but not identical, sites under different
selective pressures.

**Ken Stedman** has over several years done intensive studies on the
viruses of the extremely thermophilic archaeon *Sulfolobus.* Many
species have been isolated and sequenced, and their molecular biology,
including means of replication, have been determined. They have unusual,
one could even say bizarre, physical morphologies that have not been
previously described. Stedman and his colleagues have published
(Prangishvili *et al, Trends in Microbiology*, 9,39, 2001) a fascinating
observation, echoed in other presentations in this Workshop: "... few
ORFs in the genomes of these viruses show any similarity to ORFs
encoding proteins in other viruses or organisms." Stedman's research has
produced a major body of data on life forms of particular interest to
the Virus Focus Group. Collections of *Sulfolobus* species and their
viruses have been made in thermal sites in Japan, Iceland, North
America, Kamchatka, and elsewhere. Stedman showed images of the
Kamchatka field site, a location with 43 active volcanoes and many
extraordinary geothermal locations. He also discussed new results
indicating that some virus morphotypes may have predated the
Eukarya-Bacteria-Archaea divergance.

**Ray Kepner** has studied microbial mats in extreme locations with an
emphasis on their "physiology" and ecological relations. He described
mats that grow on the bottom of Antarctic ice covered lakes. Some rise
in pinnacles, detach, float to the underside of the icy covering,
migrate through the ice (a process that may take as much as 11 years),
and rise to the surface where they dehydrate and blow off in the heavy
winds of the region to become part of the surrounding landscape. This is
an interesting example of the delivery of carbon containing material
from a marine location to land. There was a discussion of the role of
the "quorum" sensing molecules that are important in the medical
treatment of biofilms that form on implanted prosthesis such as
artificial or exobiotic heart valves. Kepner suggested collaborations
with others in the group interested in the identification and
characterization of viruses in the material he is collecting.

**Forest Rohwer** presented a series of studies on the sequencing of
viruses, mostly phages, from marine environments in San Diego and La
Jolla, CA. He compared these to the sequences obtained from human feces.
There is a remarkable diversity in the viral and phage types with
striking differences between the two marine locations. He has made
estimates of the prevalence of life forms in seawater. There are 10 X
10^6^ viruses and phages per milliliter of seawater compared to 1 X
10^6^ bacteria and lesser amounts of other forms (for example, algae).
The oceans appear to be the biggest pool of biological material on earth
with viruses being the most common form. His research demonstrated that
the genomic analysis of uncultured marine viral communities is feasible,
pointing toward the possibility of similar studies elsewhere. Other
collection sites included geothermal locations in Mammoth and Mono Lakes
in eastern CA and the geothermal energy sites at El Centro and Imperial
Spa, in southern CA. Twenty percent of the phage genomes did not have
any close homologs in the sequence databases, a report similar to that
of Stedman's (above).

This observation requires further support. It would be fascinating if
phages, and particularly phages of extremophilic Bacteria and Archaea
have unique genomic sequences. This could generate the hypothesis that
they may have had a separate origin on Earth or that they originated
elsewhere. These speculative hypotheses seem unlikely, but would
certainly be interesting to test.

**Alice Ortmann** presented the paper from Curtis Suttle's group at the
University of British Columbia, as Azeem Ahmed was unable to attend.
Their laboratory has studied the viruses of the algae *Heterosigma
akaskiwo* that affects farmed fish. The collections were accomplished
from a Canadian Coast Guard vessel in the Straits of Georgia (east of
Vancouver Island, BC). Collections were also made in the submarine
hydrothermal vent field on Endeavour Ridge, BC. These collections add to
the growing database on viruses of extremophiles. They also observe
large amounts of diversity in their bacteriophage samples from all
samples both spatially and temporally distributed. The group has been
one of the leaders in the discovery and analysis of bacteriophage and
viruses in marine environments.

**Grieg Steward,** the University of Hawaii, presented a paper that was
not on the original program. He reported on an extensive series of
studies of virally infected cells in widespread marine locations. These
included, among others, sites in Long Island Sound (NY), in the eastern
and western Caribbean, in the Gulf Stream and the Sargasso Sea, Mono
Lake CA and under the arctic ice. The latter collections were made by
Grieg on board a nuclear submarine during an extended undersea and under
ice voyage from Groton, CN to Seattle, WA that included a single
surfacing at the North Pole. This was part of the SCICEX 97 research
program. Some of his studies were multiple collections over time, for
example; HOTS, Hawaiian Ocean Time Series, and BAT, Bermuda Atlantic
Time series. The extensive data set included information on virus
infectivity, mortality, diversity, etc.

**CONCLUSIONS AND PLANS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS AND ACTIVITIES.**

The study of the viruses of extreme locations is currently, in large
part, in a data collecting and inductive phase. That is, the data is
being collected on which the hypotheses that will move the field forward
will be based. The papers presented, which represent only a fraction of
ongoing research, indicates how rich this field is and will become. It
is already clear that there are many viruses and phages in extreme
environments, that there is great diversity, and that the viruses are
very unusual in their appearance and molecular biology. The phages and
the microorganisms they infect produce a wide range of unusual proteins
and enzymes that will have valuable, if unpredictable, applications in
research, medicine, and industry.

The NAI Virus Focus Group has the potential of becoming an active and
effective group of scientists who can help develop this important
program directed towards understanding the origins, evolution,
distribution and future of life on Earth and in the Universe.

# NASA Astrobiology Institute Virus Focus Group Workshop: October 16-17, 2003

PROGRAM

The Simon Benson House, Portland State University, Portland Oregon.

*[Thursday, October 16^th^, 2003]{.underline}*

## Session I. The Origin and Evolution of Viruses

9:00 -- 9:15 Welcome and Introductions *Ken Stedman, Portland State
University*

*Baruch Blumberg, NAI/Fox Chase Cancer Center*

9:15 -- 9:45 The indissoluble bond: Virus-host interactions in an
ecological context:

*Luis Ruedas, Portland State University*

9:45 -- 10:45 Experimental evolution in viruses: *Paul Turner, Yale
University*

10:45 -11:15 Break (Visit to PSU Electron Microscopy Facility)

11:15 -12:00 Discussion - *Participants*

12:00-13:30 Lunch

## Session II. Viruses in Extreme Terrestrial Environments

13:30 -- 14:30 Hot Viruses *Ken Stedman, Portland State University*

14:30 -- 15:00 Break (Visit Stedman Lab, Center for Life in Extreme
Environments, PSU)

15:00 -- 15:30 Lysogenic cyanophage from polar microbial mats:
Neglected, selected, injected, infected, inspected and\... detected?
*Ray Kepner, Marist College*

15:30 --17:00 Discussion -- *Participants*

*[Friday, October 17^th^, 2003]{.underline}*

## Session III. On the Ubiquity of Viruses

9:00 -- 10:00 Viral Biodiversity *Forest Rohwer, San Diego State
University*

10:00 -- 10:30 Break

10:30 -- 11:00 Virus Diversity in Marine Environments *Alice Ortmann, U.
British Columbia*

11:00 -- 11:30 Marine Viral Ecology *Grieg Steward, U. Hawaii*

11:00 -- 12:00 Discussion - Participants

12:00 -- 13:30 Lunch

## Session IV. Future Directions of the NAI Virus Focus Group

13:30 -- 15:00 Discussion Leader *Baruch Blumberg*. Potential Agenda
Items: Next Meeting? Election/Nomination of Chair(s).

###  

### Workshop Participants (with e-mail addresses)

Baruch Blumberg, Fox Chase Cancer Center/NAI: Baruch.Blumberg@fccc.edu

Gautam Dutta, Evergreen State College: dutgau09@evergreen.edu

Todd Gary, Tennessee State University: tgary@coe.tsuniv.edu

Grieg Steward, University of Hawaii: grieg@hawaii.edu

Emma Hambley, University of British Columbia: ehambly@eos.ubc.ca

Ray Kepner, Marist College: Raymond.Kepner@marist.edu

Brig Klyce, Astrobiology Research Trust: bklyce@panspermia.org

Bette McKnight, North Carolina A&T: mcknight@ncat.edu

Alice Ortmann, University of British Columbia:
ortmann@interchange.ubc.ca

Raul Raya, Evergreen State College: rayar@evergreen.edu

Forest Rohwer, San Diego State University: forest@sunstroke.sdsu.edu

Anne Rosenthal, Freelance Science Writer: ANNEMROSENTHAL@cs.com

Paul Turner, Yale University: paul.turner@yale.edu

Jay Withgott, Freelance science writer: jwithgott@msn.com

David Boone, Portland State University: dboone@pdx.edu

Sherry Cady, Portland State University: cadys@pdx.edu

Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Portland State University: areysenbach@pdx.edu

Luis Ruedas, Portland State University: ruedas@pdx.edu

Kenneth Stedman, Portland State University: <kstedman@pdx.edu>

Current members of NAI-Virus Focus Group (e-mail list): NAI members in
**bold**:

+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| First        | Last         | E-mail Address                         |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Steve        | Abedon       | microdude+@osu.edu                     |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Azeem        | Ahmed        | aahmad@eos.ubc.ca                      |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **John**     | **Baross**   | **jbaross@u.washington.edu**           |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Baruch**   | **Blumberg** | **Baruch.Blumberg@fccc.edu**           |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| David        | Boone        | booned@pdx.edu                         |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Andy         | Brabban      | brabbana@evergreen.edu                 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Sherry**   | **Cady**     | **cadys@pdx.edu**                      |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Simon**    | **Clemett**  | **simon.j.clemett1@jsc.nasa.gov**      |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Rita         | Colwell      | rcolwell@nsf.gov                       |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Jody**     | **Deming**   | **jdeming@u.washington.edu**           |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Steve**    | **D\'Hondt** | **dhondt@gso.uri.edu**                 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Gautam       | Dutta        | dutgau09@evergreen.edu                 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Todd**     | **Gary**     | **tgary@coe.tsuniv.edu**               |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Grieg        | Steward      | grieg@hawaii.edu                       |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Rose**     | **Grymes**   | **Rosalind.A.Grymes@nasa.gov**         |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Emma         | Hambly       | ehambly@eos.ubc.ca                     |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Fairhead     | Heather      | hf@phicotherapeutics.co.uk             |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Roger        | Hendrix      | rhx@pitt.edu                           |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Rask**     | **Jon**      | **jrask@arc.nasa.gov**                 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Ray          | Kepner       | Raymond.Kepner@marist.edu              |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Brig         | Klyce        | bklyce@panspermia.org                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Betty        | Kutter       | kutterb@evergreen.edu                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Vansessa** | *            | **vanessa.lancaster@asu.edu**          |
|              | *Lancaster** |                                        |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Teresa       | Longanzo     | teresa.g.longanzo@jsc.nasa.gov         |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| S.V.         | Manjunath    | svmanju@indiatimes.com                 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **David**    | **McKay**    | **David.s.mckay@jsc.nasa.gov**         |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Bette**    | **McKnight** | **mcknight@ncat.edu**                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Alice        | Ortmann      | ortmann@interchange.ubc.ca             |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| John         | Paul         | jpaul@seas.marine.usf.edu              |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Raul         | Raya         | rayar@evergreen.edu                    |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Anna-Louise  | Reysenbach   | <areysenbach@pdx.edu>                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Forest       | Rohwer       | forest@sunstroke.sdsu.edu              |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Anne         | Rosenthal    | ANNEMROSENTHAL@cs.com                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Lynn**     | **           | **Lynn.J.Rothschild@nasa.gov**         |
|              | Rothschild** |                                        |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Luis         | Ruedas       | ruedas@pdx.edu                         |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Andrew       | Schuerger    | schueac@kscems.ksc.nasa.gov            |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Robert       | Siegel       | <siegelr@stanford.edu>                 |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **David**    | **Smith**    | **dcsmith@gso.uri.edu**                |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Ken          | Stedman      | kstedman@pdx.edu                       |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Andrew**   | **Steele**   | **a.steele@gl.ciw.edu**                |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Matt         | Sullivan     | mbsulli@MIT.EDU                        |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Curtis       | Suttle       | csuttle@eos.ubc.ca                     |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Paul         | Turner       | paul.turner@yale.edu                   |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Kokjohn      | Tyler        | tkokjo@midwestern.edu                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| James        | Van Etten    | jvanetten@unlnotes.unl.edu             |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| ## Llyd      | **Wells**    | **chimera1@ocean.washington.edu**      |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Michael      | Wendorf      | <Mike.Wendorf@kp.org>                  |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| **Frances**  | **Westall**  | **westall@cnrs-orleans.fr**            |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Jay          | Withgott     | jwithgott@msn.com                      |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+
| Mark         | Young        | myoung@montana.edu                     |
+--------------+--------------+----------------------------------------+