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Gäb F, Bierbaum G, Wirth R, Bultmann C, Palmer B, Janssen K, Karačić S. Enzymatic phosphatization of fish scales-a pathway for fish fossilization. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8347. [PMID: 38594297 PMCID: PMC11003971 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59025-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Phosphatized fish fossils occur in various locations worldwide. Although these fossils have been intensively studied over the past decades they remain a matter of ongoing research. The mechanism of the permineralization reaction itself remains still debated in the community. The mineralization in apatite of a whole fish requires a substantial amount of phosphate which is scarce in seawater, so the origin of the excess is unknown. Previous research has shown that alkaline phosphatase, a ubiquitous enzyme, can increase the phosphate content in vitro in a medium to the degree of saturation concerning apatite. We applied this principle to an experimental setup where fish scales were exposed to commercial bovine alkaline phosphatase. We analyzed the samples with SEM and TEM and found that apatite crystals had formed on the remaining soft tissue. A comparison of these newly formed apatite crystals with fish fossils from the Solnhofen and Santana fossil deposits showed striking similarities. Both are made up of almost identically sized and shaped nano-apatites. This suggests a common formation process: the spontaneous precipitation from an oversaturated solution. The excess activity of alkaline phosphatase could explain that effect. Therefore, our findings could provide insight into the formation of well-preserved fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Gäb
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Gabriele Bierbaum
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Richard Wirth
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Section 3.5 Interface Geochemistry, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Christoph Bultmann
- Radiomed Group Practice for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - Brianne Palmer
- Bonn Institute of Organismic Biology, Division of Palaeontology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Kathrin Janssen
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sabina Karačić
- Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
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Kitanaka R, Tsuboi M, Numata T, Muramiya Y, Yoshida H, Ozaki Y. Visualization and identification of components in a gigantic spherical dolomite concretion by Raman imaging in combination with MCR or CLS methods. Sci Rep 2024; 14:749. [PMID: 38185706 PMCID: PMC10772084 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51147-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The combination of Raman imaging and multivariate curve resolution (MCR) or classical least squares (CLS) has allowed us to explore the distribution and identification of components in a gigantic spherical dolomite concretion. It has been found by the MCR and CLS analyses of imaging data that the concretion contains dolomite, kerogen, anatase, quartz, plagioclase, and carbon materials with considerably large distribution of dolomite. The existence of these components has also been confirmed by the point-by-point analysis of imaging data. The distributions of these components were clearly observed by Raman images. Of note is that the amount of carbon materials is considerably large, and they are buried among the matrix sedimentary grains in the concretion, suggesting that there exist soft tissues with biological origin. Moreover, one of the loading spectra of CLS shows intense bands in the region of 3000-2800 cm-1, and bands at ca. 1658, ca. 1585, 1455, 1323, and 1261 cm-1. These bands indicate the existence of decomposed organic materials in the concretion. Raman imaging of concretions provides direct evidence that concretions are of biological organic origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Kitanaka
- Department of Applied Chemistry for Environment, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1 Gakuen Uegahara, Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1330, Japan
| | - Motohiro Tsuboi
- Department of Applied Chemistry for Environment, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1 Gakuen Uegahara, Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1330, Japan.
| | - Tomoko Numata
- HORIBA, Techno Service Co., Ltd., Chiyoda, Tokyo, 101-0063, Japan
| | - Yusuke Muramiya
- Fukada Geological Institute, 2-13-12 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0021, Japan
| | - Hidekazu Yoshida
- Material Research Section, Nagoya University, University Museum, Chikusa, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Yukihiro Ozaki
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1 Gakuen Uegahara, Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1330, Japan.
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