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Huang J, Li J, Meng W, Su G. A critical review on organophosphate esters in drinking water: Analysis, occurrence, sources, and human health risk assessment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 913:169663. [PMID: 38159759 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are ubiquitous in the environment. Copious studies assessed OPEs in various environmental media. However, there is limited summative information about OPEs in drinking water. This review provides comprehensive data for the analytical methods, occurrence, sources, and risk assessment of OPEs in drinking water. In general, liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction are the most common methods in the extraction of OPEs from drinking water, while gas chromatography and liquid chromatography are the most commonly used instrumental methods for detecting OPEs in drinking water. On the basis of these techniques, a variety of methods on OPEs pretreatment and determination have been developed to know the pollution situation of OPEs. Studies on the occurrence of OPEs in drinking water show that the total concentrations of OPEs vary seasonally and regionally, with tris(1-chloro-2-isopropyl) phosphate and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate dominant among different kinds of drinking water. Source identification studies show that there are three main sources of OPEs in drinking water: 1) source water contamination; 2) residual in drinking water treatment process; 3) leakage from device or pipeline. Besides, risk assessments indicate that individual and total OPEs pose no or negligible health risk to human, but this result may be significantly underestimated. Finally, the current knowledge gaps on the research of OPEs in drinking water are discussed and some suggestions are provided for future environmental research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianan Huang
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Jianhua Li
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Weikun Meng
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Guanyong Su
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
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2
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Tripp M, Schwark L, Brocks JJ, Mayer P, Whiteside JH, Rickard W, Greenwood PF, Grice K. Rapid encapsulation of true ferns and arborane/fernane compounds fossilised in siderite concretions supports analytical distinction of plant fossils. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19851. [PMID: 37963973 PMCID: PMC10646143 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47009-8] [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: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Fossilised true ferns (Pecopteris sp.) preserved in siderite concretions from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (Illinois) presented a unique opportunity to characterise the organic signatures of these late Carboniferous plants. Localised analyses of true fern fossils showed several highly abundant phytohopanoids and fernane/arborane derived aromatic products, which were present only negligibly within their siderite matrix, as well as from other types of fossilised plants. These terpenoids had been recognised in some extant ferns, but scarcely in sedimentary organic matter and their exact source remained ambiguous. The present fossil biomarker data confirms an ancient true fern origin. Furthermore, the excellent concretion preservation of a series of related terpenoid products provided a rare insight into their diagenetic formation. The benign properties of carbonate concretions could be exploited further for biomarker evidence of other fossilised organisms, with one important caveat being that biomarker signals attributed to isolated fossils be significantly distinct from background organic matter pervading the concretion matrix. For instance, hydrocarbon profiles of seed ferns (pteridosperms) and articulates (horsetails) also preserved in Mazon Creek concretions were indistinguishable from separate analysis of their concretion matrix, preventing biomarker recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison Tripp
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia.
| | - Lorenz Schwark
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, Institute of Geoscience, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24118, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jochen J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Paul Mayer
- The Field Museum, 1400 S Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
| | - Jessica H Whiteside
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA
| | - William Rickard
- John de Laeter Centre, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Paul F Greenwood
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Kliti Grice
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia.
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3
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Sadatzki H, Opdyke B, Menviel L, Leventer A, Hope JM, Brocks JJ, Fallon S, Post AL, O’Brien PE, Grant K, Armand L. Early sea ice decline off East Antarctica at the last glacial-interglacial climate transition. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh9513. [PMID: 37824627 PMCID: PMC10569715 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh9513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Antarctic climate warming and atmospheric CO2 rise during the last deglaciation may be attributed in part to sea ice reduction in the Southern Ocean. Yet, glacial-interglacial Antarctic sea ice dynamics and underlying mechanisms are poorly constrained, as robust sea ice proxy evidence is sparse. Here, we present a molecular biomarker-based sea ice record that resolves the spring/summer sea ice variability off East Antarctica during the past 40 thousand years (ka). Our results indicate that substantial sea ice reduction culminated rapidly and contemporaneously with upwelling of carbon-enriched waters in the Southern Ocean at the onset of the last deglaciation but began at least ~2 ka earlier probably driven by an increasing local integrated summer insolation. Our findings suggest that sea ice reduction and associated feedbacks facilitated stratification breakup and outgassing of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and warming in Antarctica but may also have played a leading role in initializing these deglacial processes in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Sadatzki
- Marine Geology Section, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27568 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Bradley Opdyke
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Laurie Menviel
- Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
- The Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
| | - Amy Leventer
- Department of Geology, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA
| | - Janet M. Hope
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Jochen J. Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Stewart Fallon
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Alexandra L. Post
- Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Philip E. O’Brien
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Katharine Grant
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Leanne Armand
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
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4
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Brocks JJ, Nettersheim BJ, Adam P, Schaeffer P, Jarrett AJM, Güneli N, Liyanage T, van Maldegem LM, Hallmann C, Hope JM. Lost world of complex life and the late rise of the eukaryotic crown. Nature 2023:10.1038/s41586-023-06170-w. [PMID: 37286610 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06170-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryotic life appears to have flourished surprisingly late in the history of our planet. This view is based on the low diversity of diagnostic eukaryotic fossils in marine sediments of mid-Proterozoic age (around 1,600 to 800 million years ago) and an absence of steranes, the molecular fossils of eukaryotic membrane sterols1,2. This scarcity of eukaryotic remains is difficult to reconcile with molecular clocks that suggest that the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) had already emerged between around 1,200 and more than 1,800 million years ago. LECA, in turn, must have been preceded by stem-group eukaryotic forms by several hundred million years3. Here we report the discovery of abundant protosteroids in sedimentary rocks of mid-Proterozoic age. These primordial compounds had previously remained unnoticed because their structures represent early intermediates of the modern sterol biosynthetic pathway, as predicted by Konrad Bloch4. The protosteroids reveal an ecologically prominent 'protosterol biota' that was widespread and abundant in aquatic environments from at least 1,640 to around 800 million years ago and that probably comprised ancient protosterol-producing bacteria and deep-branching stem-group eukaryotes. Modern eukaryotes started to appear in the Tonian period (1,000 to 720 million years ago), fuelled by the proliferation of red algae (rhodophytes) by around 800 million years ago. This 'Tonian transformation' emerges as one of the most profound ecological turning points in the Earth's history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jochen J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
| | - Benjamin J Nettersheim
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
- MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
| | - Pierre Adam
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Strasbourg UMR 7177, Strasbourg, France
| | - Philippe Schaeffer
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut de Chimie de Strasbourg UMR 7177, Strasbourg, France
| | - Amber J M Jarrett
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Northern Territory Geological Survey, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Nur Güneli
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Tharika Liyanage
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Lennart M van Maldegem
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | | | - Janet M Hope
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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5
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Bobrovskiy I, Nagovitsyn A, Hope JM, Luzhnaya E, Brocks JJ. Guts, gut contents, and feeding strategies of Ediacaran animals. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5382-5389.e3. [PMID: 36417903 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The oldest animals appear in the fossil record among Ediacara biota communities. They prelude animal-dominated ecosystems of the Phanerozoic and may hold clues to the appearance of modern animal phyla in the Cambrian explosion. However, little is known about the phylogeny of the Ediacaran organisms and even less about their diet and feeding behavior.1,2,3 An exception is mollusc-like Kimberella, for which a fossilized gut, feeding traces, and even potential coprolites have been found.4,5 By contrast, Ediacaran organic-walled tubes, such as Sabellidites and Calyptrina, are thought to belong to tube worms comparable with modern Siboglinidae that have no gut but gain their nutrition from symbiotic bacteria.6,7 Here, we examine the gut contents of Ediacaran animals using biomarker molecules. We show that 558-million-year (Ma)-old tube worm-like Calyptrina and mollusc-like Kimberella possessed a gut and shared a diet of green algae and bacteria. Despite their ancient age, sterol metabolism within the gut of both organisms was already comparable to extant invertebrates.8Dickinsonia, one of the key Ediacaran animals, show no traces of dietary molecules, indicating a different feeding mode and possible external digestion analogous to modern Placozoa. Lipid biomarkers uncover a range of feeding strategies in Ediacaran communities, highlighting true eumetazoan physiology of some Ediacaran animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya Bobrovskiy
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | | | - Janet M Hope
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Ekaterina Luzhnaya
- Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Jochen J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
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6
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Kumar A, Sharma C. Recent update of the various sources originating ghost peaks in gas chromatography: A review. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1685:463625. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Tripp M, Wiemann J, Brocks J, Mayer P, Schwark L, Grice K. Fossil Biomarkers and Biosignatures Preserved in Coprolites Reveal Carnivorous Diets in the Carboniferous Mazon Creek Ecosystem. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11091289. [PMID: 36138768 PMCID: PMC9495973 DOI: 10.3390/biology11091289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The reconstruction of ancient trophic networks is pivotal to our understanding of ecosystem function and change through time. However, inferring dietary relationships in enigmatic ecosystems dominated by organisms without modern analogues, such as the Carboniferous Mazon Creek fauna, has previously been considered challenging: preserved coprolites often do not retain sufficient morphology to identify the dietary composition. Here, we analysed n = 3 Mazon Creek coprolites in concretions for dietary signals in preserved biomarkers, stable carbon isotope data, and macromolecular composition. Cholesteroids, metazoan markers of cholesterol, show an increased abundance in the sampled coprolites (86 to 99% of the total steranes) compared to the surrounding sediment, indicating an endogenous nature of preserved organics. Presence of unaltered 5α-cholestan-3β-ol and coprostanol underline the exceptional molecular preservation of the coprolites, and reveal a carnivorous diet for the coprolite producer. Statistical analyses of in situ Raman spectra targeting coprolite carbonaceous remains support a metazoan affinity of the digested fossil remains, and suggest a high trophic level for the coprolite producer. These currently oldest, intact dietary stanols, combined with exquisitely preserved macromolecular biosignatures in Carboniferous fossils offer a novel source of trophic information. Molecular and biosignature preservation is facilitated by rapid sedimentary encapsulation of the coprolites within days to months after egestion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison Tripp
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
- Correspondence: (M.T.); (K.G.)
| | - Jasmina Wiemann
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Jochen Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Paul Mayer
- The Field Museum, 1400 S Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| | - Lorenz Schwark
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
- Organic Geochemistry Unit, Institute of Geoscience, Christian-Albrechts-University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Kliti Grice
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, The Institute for Geoscience Research, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
- Correspondence: (M.T.); (K.G.)
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8
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Optimisation of the HS-SPME/GC-MS Approach by Design of Experiments Combined with Chemometrics for the Classification of Cretan Virgin Olive Oils. Metabolites 2022; 12:metabo12020114. [PMID: 35208191 PMCID: PMC8878322 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12020114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A headspace-solid phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) method was developed herein for the analysis of virgin olive oil volatile metabolome. Optimisation of SPME conditions was performed by Design of Experiments (DoE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) approaches and factors, such as sample volume, sample stirring, extraction temperature and time, and desorption temperature and time, were examined to reach optimal microextraction conditions. The potential of the optimised method was then investigated for its use in the classification of Cretan virgin olive oil samples with the aid of multivariate statistical analysis. Certain markers were identified with significance in the geographical classification of Cretan extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) samples. In total, 92 volatile organic compounds were tentatively identified and semi-quantified, and the data obtained confirm that the method is robust, reliable, and analytically powerful for olive oil classification.
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9
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Algal origin of sponge sterane biomarkers negates the oldest evidence for animals in the rock record. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 5:165-168. [PMID: 33230256 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01334-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The earliest fossils of animal-like organisms occur in Ediacaran rocks that are approximately 571 million years old. Yet 24-isopropylcholestanes and other C30 fossil sterol molecules have been suggested to reflect an important ecological role of demosponges as the first abundant animals by the end of the Cryogenian period (>635 million years ago). Here, we demonstrate that C30 24-isopropylcholestane is not diagnostic for sponges and probably formed in Neoproterozoic sediments through the geological methylation of C29 sterols of chlorophyte algae, the dominant eukaryotes at that time. These findings reconcile biomarker evidence with the geological record and revert the oldest evidence for animals back into the latest Ediacaran.
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Bobrovskiy I, Hope JM, Golubkova E, Brocks JJ. Food sources for the Ediacara biota communities. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1261. [PMID: 32152319 PMCID: PMC7062841 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15063-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Ediacara biota represents the first complex macroscopic organisms in the geological record, foreshadowing the radiation of eumetazoan animals in the Cambrian explosion. However, little is known about the contingencies that lead to their emergence, including the possible roles of nutrient availability and the quality of food sources. Here we present information on primary producers in the Ediacaran based on biomarker molecules that were extracted from sediments hosting Ediacaran macrofossils. High relative abundances of algal steranes over bacterial hopanes suggest that the Ediacara biota inhabited nutrient replete environments with an abundance of algal food sources comparable to Phanerozoic ecosystems. Thus, organisms of the Ediacara biota inhabited nutrient-rich environments akin to those that later fuelled the Cambrian explosion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya Bobrovskiy
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Janet M Hope
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Elena Golubkova
- Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Jochen J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
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11
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Jarrett AJM, Cox GM, Brocks JJ, Grosjean E, Boreham CJ, Edwards DS. Microbial assemblage and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the 1.38 Ga Velkerri Formation, McArthur Basin, northern Australia. GEOBIOLOGY 2019; 17:360-380. [PMID: 30734481 PMCID: PMC6618112 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The ca. 1.38 billion years (Ga) old Roper Group of the McArthur Basin, northern Australia, is one of the most extensive Proterozoic hydrocarbon-bearing units. Organic-rich black siltstones from the Velkerri Formation were deposited in a deep-water sequence and were analysed to determine their organic geochemical (biomarker) signatures, which were used to interpret the microbial diversity and palaeoenvironment of the Roper Seaway. The indigenous hydrocarbon biomarker assemblages describe a water column dominated by bacteria with large-scale heterotrophic reworking of the organic matter in the water column or bottom sediment. Possible evidence for microbial reworking includes a large unresolved complex mixture (UCM), high ratios of mid-chained and terminally branched monomethyl alkanes relative to n-alkanes-features characteristic of indigenous Proterozoic bitumen. Steranes, biomarkers for single-celled and multicellular eukaryotes, were below detection limits in all extracts analysed, despite eukaryotic microfossils having been previously identified in the Roper Group, albeit largely in organically lean shallower water facies. These data suggest that eukaryotes, while present in the Roper Seaway, were ecologically restricted and contributed little to export production. The 2,3,4- and 2,3,6-trimethyl aryl isoprenoids (TMAI) were absent or in very low concentration in the Velkerri Formation. The low abundance is primary and not caused by thermal destruction. The combination of increased dibenzothiophene in the Amungee Member of the Velkerri Formation and trace metal redox geochemistry suggests that degradation of carotenoids occurred during intermittent oxygen exposure at the sediment-water interface and/or the water column was rarely euxinic in the photic zone and likely only transiently euxinic at depth. A comparison of this work with recently published biomarker and trace elemental studies from other mid-Proterozoic basins demonstrates that microbial environments, water column geochemistry and basin redox were heterogeneous.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Grant M. Cox
- Department of Earth SciencesCentre for Tectonics Resources and Exploration (TRaX)The University of AdelaideAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Jochen J. Brocks
- Research School of Earth SciencesAustralian National UniversityActonAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
| | | | - Chris J. Boreham
- Geoscience AustraliaCanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
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12
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Bobrovskiy I, Hope JM, Ivantsov A, Nettersheim BJ, Hallmann C, Brocks JJ. Ancient steroids establish the Ediacaran fossil Dickinsonia as one of the earliest animals. Science 2018; 361:1246-1249. [PMID: 30237355 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat7228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The enigmatic Ediacara biota (571 million to 541 million years ago) represents the first macroscopic complex organisms in the geological record and may hold the key to our understanding of the origin of animals. Ediacaran macrofossils are as "strange as life on another planet" and have evaded taxonomic classification, with interpretations ranging from marine animals or giant single-celled protists to terrestrial lichens. Here, we show that lipid biomarkers extracted from organically preserved Ediacaran macrofossils unambiguously clarify their phylogeny. Dickinsonia and its relatives solely produced cholesteroids, a hallmark of animals. Our results make these iconic members of the Ediacara biota the oldest confirmed macroscopic animals in the rock record, indicating that the appearance of the Ediacara biota was indeed a prelude to the Cambrian explosion of animal life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya Bobrovskiy
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Janet M Hope
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Andrey Ivantsov
- Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | | | - Christian Hallmann
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena 07745, Germany.,MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany
| | - Jochen J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
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13
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Schinteie R, Brocks JJ. Paleoecology of Neoproterozoic hypersaline environments: Biomarker evidence for haloarchaea, methanogens, and cyanobacteria. GEOBIOLOGY 2017; 15:641-663. [PMID: 28691279 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
While numerous studies have examined modern hypersaline ecosystems, their equivalents in the geologic past, particularly in the Precambrian, are poorly understood. In this study, biomarkers from ~820 million year (Ma)-old evaporites from the Gillen Formation of the mid-Neoproterozoic Bitter Springs Group, central Australia, are investigated to elucidate the antiquity and paleoecology of halophiles. The sediments were composed of alternating laminae of dolomitized microbial mats and up to 90% anhydrite. Solvent extraction of these samples yielded thermally well-preserved hydrocarbon biomarkers. The regularly branched C25 isoprenoid 2,6,10,14,18-pentamethylicosane, the tail-to-tail linked C30 isoprenoid squalane, and breakdown products of the head-to-head linked C40 isoprenoid biphytane, were particularly abundant in the most anhydrite-rich sediments and mark the oldest current evidence for halophilic archaea. Linear correlations between isoprenoid concentrations (normalized to n-alkanes) and the anhydrite/dolomite ratio reveal microbial consortia that fluctuated with changing salinity levels. Halophilic archaea were the dominant organisms during periods of high salinity and gypsum precipitation, while bacteria were prevalent during stages of carbonate formation. The irregularly branched C25 isoprenoid 2,6,10,15,19-pentamethylicosane (PMI), with a central tail-to-tail link, was also abundant during periods of elevated salinity, highlighting the activity of methanogens. By contrast, the irregularly branched C20 isoprenoid 2,6,11,15-tetramethylhexadecane (crocetane) was more common in dolomite-rich facies, revealing that an alternate group of archaea was active during less saline periods. Elevated concentrations of isotopically depleted heptadecane (n-C17 ) revealed the presence of cyanobacteria under all salinity regimes. The combination of biomarkers in the mid-Neoproterozoic Gillen Formation resembles lipid compositions from modern hypersaline cyanobacterial mats, pointing to a community composition that remained broadly constant since at least the Neoproterozoic. However, as a major contrast to most modern hypersaline environments, the Gillen evaporites did not yield any evidence for algae or other eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Schinteie
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - J J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Brocks JJ, Jarrett AJM, Sirantoine E, Hallmann C, Hoshino Y, Liyanage T. The rise of algae in Cryogenian oceans and the emergence of animals. Nature 2017; 548:578-581. [DOI: 10.1038/nature23457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 296] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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Sol-gel coated ion sources for liquid chromatography-direct electron ionization mass spectrometry. Anal Chim Acta 2017; 978:35-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2017.04.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Revised: 04/07/2017] [Accepted: 04/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Brocks JJ, Jarrett AJM, Sirantoine E, Kenig F, Moczydłowska M, Porter S, Hope J. Early sponges and toxic protists: possible sources of cryostane, an age diagnostic biomarker antedating Sturtian Snowball Earth. GEOBIOLOGY 2016; 14:129-149. [PMID: 26507690 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The period 800-717 million years (Ma) ago, in the lead-up to the Sturtian Snowball glaciation, saw an increase in the diversity of eukaryotic microfossils. To afford an independent and complementary view of this evolutionary period, this study presents the distribution of eukaryotic biomarkers from three pre-Sturtian successions across the supercontinent Rodinia: the ca. 780 Ma Kanpa Formation of the Western Australian Officer Basin, the ca. 800-740 Ma Visingsö Group of Sweden, and the 740 Ma Chuar Group in Arizona, USA. The distribution of eukaryotic steranes is remarkably similar in the three successions but distinct from all other known younger and older sterane assemblages. Cholestane was the only conventional structure, while indigenous steranes alkylated in position C-24, such as ergostane, stigmastane, dinosterane and isopropylcholestane, and n-propylcholestane, were not observed. This sterane distribution appears to be age diagnostic for the pre-Sturtian Neoproterozoic. It attests to the distinct evolutionary state of pre-Snowball eukaryotes, pointing to a taxonomic disparity that was still lower than in the Ediacaran (635-541 Ma). All three basins also show the presence of a new C28 sterane that was tentatively identified as 26-methylcholestane, here named cryostane. The only known extant organisms that can methylate sterols in the 26-position are demosponges. This assignment is plausible as molecular clocks place the appearance of the earliest animals into the pre-Sturtian Neoproterozoic. The unusual 26-methylsterol may have protected sponges, but also other eukaryotes, against their own membranolytic toxins. Some protists release lytic toxins to deter predators and kill eukaryotic prey. As conventional membrane sterols can be the site of attack for these toxins, sterols with unusual side-chain modification protect the cell. This interpretation of cryostane supports fossil evidence of predation in the Chuar Group and promotes hypotheses about the proliferation of eukaryophagy in the lead-up to the Cryogenian.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - A J M Jarrett
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - E Sirantoine
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - F Kenig
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - M Moczydłowska
- Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - S Porter
- Department of Earth Science, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - J Hope
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Magrini L, Famiglini G, Palma P, Termopoli V, Cappiello A. Boosting the Detection Potential of Liquid Chromatography-Electron Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using a Ceramic Coated Ion Source. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2016; 27:153-60. [PMID: 26350384 DOI: 10.1007/s13361-015-1257-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2015] [Revised: 07/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/19/2015] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Detection of target and non-target substances and their characterization in complex samples is a challenging task. Here we demonstrate that coating the electron ionization (EI) ion source of an LC-MS system with a sol-gel ceramic film can drastically improve the detection of high-molecular weight and high-boiling analytes. A new ion source coated with a ceramic material was developed and tested with a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) with an increasing number of rings. Comparison of the results obtained with those for an uncoated stainless steel (SS) ion source shows a dramatic improvement in the MS signals, with a nearly 40-fold increase of the signal-to-noise ratio. We also demonstrate the ability of the new system to produce excellent chromatographic profiles for hard-to-detect hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Magrini
- Department STeVA, LC-MS Laboratory, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy
| | - Giorgio Famiglini
- Department STeVA, LC-MS Laboratory, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy
| | - Pierangela Palma
- Department STeVA, LC-MS Laboratory, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy
| | - Veronica Termopoli
- Department STeVA, LC-MS Laboratory, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy
| | - Achille Cappiello
- Department STeVA, LC-MS Laboratory, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy.
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Wynn PM, Brocks JJ. A framework for the extraction and interpretation of organic molecules in speleothem carbonate. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY : RCM 2014; 28:845-854. [PMID: 24623687 DOI: 10.1002/rcm.6843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2013] [Revised: 01/14/2014] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE The organic content of speleothem calcite is a well-recognized component of their chemical composition. To date, the techniques for interpretation of this material include UV fluorescence, FTIR spectroscopy and biomarker analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). However, investigation of the minute concentrations of molecules in speleothems demands careful sampling and laboratory controls. METHODS To be certain extracted molecules were encapsulated at the time of speleothem growth and do not represent contamination, we submitted three pieces of speleothem calcite to a rigorous extraction procedure. Based on sequential digestion and analysis by GC/MS, we measured concentration profiles of individual compounds with increasing distance from sample surfaces. RESULTS Declining concentrations toward interior extracts identified cholesterol, phthalates, and n-alkanes as surface contaminants. In contrast, iodo organic compounds had homogeneous concentration profiles and were also significantly above laboratory background levels, consistent with an indigenous origin. However, further laboratory testing demonstrated that iodo organics were produced by the reaction of iodine derived from the speleothem with solvent additives and other impurities of the extraction procedure. Sitosterol and some fatty acids demonstrated distributions which were probably indigenous to the speleothem archive, thus recording environmental conditions commensurate with time of growth. CONCLUSIONS We do not aim to provide an environmental interpretation of extracted molecules, but highlight the caution necessary before doing so. We ultimately establish a framework for differentiating between organic constituents that are introduced to the speleothems during storage, handling and as artifacts of extraction, and those encapsulated in situ at the time of growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Wynn
- Lancaster Environment Centre, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
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