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Cerrito P, Hu B, Kalisher R, Bailey SE, Bromage TG. Life history in primate teeth is revealed by changes in major and minor element concentrations measured via field-emission SEM-EDS analysis. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220438. [PMID: 36651149 PMCID: PMC9846430 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Overcoming the non-specificity of histological accentuated growth lines in hard tissues is an ongoing challenge. Identifying season at death and reproductive events has profound implications for evolutionary, ecological and conservation studies. Dental cementum is a mineralized tissue with yearly periodicity that continues deposition from tooth formation until death, maintaining a record spanning almost the entire life of an individual. Recent work has successfully employed elemental analysis of calcified incremental tissues to detect changes in extrinsic conditions such as diet and climate and to identify two important life-history milestones: weaning and sexual maturity. Here, we employ field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis to measure the relative concentrations of calcium, phosphorous, oxygen, magnesium and sodium in the cementum of 34 teeth from seven male and female rhesus macaques with known medical and life-history information. We find that changes in relative magnesium concentrations correspond with reproductive events in females and breastfeeding in infants. Additionally, we observe seasonal calcium patterns in 77.3% of the samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Cerrito
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA,Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA,Collegium Helveticum, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Bin Hu
- Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rachel Kalisher
- Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Shara E. Bailey
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Timothy G. Bromage
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA,Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA
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2
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Funston GF, dePolo PE, Sliwinski JT, Dumont M, Shelley SL, Pichevin LE, Cayzer NJ, Wible JR, Williamson TE, Rae JWB, Brusatte SL. The origin of placental mammal life histories. Nature 2022; 610:107-111. [PMID: 36045293 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05150-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
After the end-Cretaceous extinction, placental mammals quickly diversified1, occupied key ecological niches2,3 and increased in size4,5, but this last was not true of other therians6. The uniquely extended gestation of placental young7 may have factored into their success and size increase8, but reproduction style in early placentals remains unknown. Here we present the earliest record of a placental life history using palaeohistology and geochemistry, in a 62 million-year-old pantodont, the clade including the first mammals to achieve truly large body sizes. We extend the application of dental trace element mapping9,10 by 60 million years, identifying chemical markers of birth and weaning, and calibrate these to a daily record of growth in the dentition. A long gestation (approximately 7 months), rapid dental development and short suckling interval (approximately 30-75 days) show that Pantolambda bathmodon was highly precocial, unlike non-placental mammals and known Mesozoic precursors. These results demonstrate that P. bathmodon reproduced like a placental and lived at a fast pace for its body size. Assuming that P. bathmodon reflects close placental relatives, our findings suggest that the ability to produce well-developed, precocial young was established early in placental evolution, and that larger neonate sizes were a possible mechanism for rapid size increase in early placentals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory F Funston
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. .,Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Paige E dePolo
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jakub T Sliwinski
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Matthew Dumont
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Sarah L Shelley
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Nicola J Cayzer
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - John R Wible
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - James W B Rae
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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3
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Newham E, Gill PG, Corfe IJ. New tools suggest a middle Jurassic origin for mammalian endothermy: Advances in state-of-the-art techniques uncover new insights on the evolutionary patterns of mammalian endothermy through time: Advances in state-of-the-art techniques uncover new insights on the evolutionary patterns of mammalian endothermy through time. Bioessays 2022; 44:e2100060. [PMID: 35170781 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202100060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
We suggest that mammalian endothermy was established amongst Middle Jurassic crown mammals, through reviewing state-of-the-art fossil and living mammal studies. This is considerably later than the prevailing paradigm, and has important ramifications for the causes, pattern, and pace of physiological evolution amongst synapsids. Most hypotheses argue that selection for either enhanced aerobic activity, or thermoregulation was the primary driver for synapsid physiological evolution, based on a range of fossil characters that have been linked to endothermy. We argue that, rather than either alternative being the primary selective force for the entirety of endothermic evolution, these characters evolved quite independently through time, and across the mammal family tree, principally as a response to shifting environmental pressures and ecological opportunities. Our interpretations can be tested using closely linked proxies for both factors, derived from study of fossils of a range of Jurassic and Cretaceous mammaliaforms and early mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elis Newham
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Palaeontology, Institute for Geosciences, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Pamela G Gill
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Ian J Corfe
- Jernvall Laboratory, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo, Finland
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Cerrito P, Nava A, Radovčić D, Borić D, Cerrito L, Basdeo T, Ruggiero G, Frayer DW, Kao AP, Bondioli L, Mancini L, Bromage TG. Dental cementum virtual histology of Neanderthal teeth from Krapina (Croatia, 130-120 kyr): an informed estimate of age, sex and adult stressors. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20210820. [PMID: 35193386 PMCID: PMC8864341 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of modern human reproductive scheduling is an aspect of our life history that remains vastly uncomprehended. The present work aims to address this gap by validating a non-destructive cutting-edge methodology to infer adult life-history events on modern teeth with known life history and then applying it to fossil specimens. We use phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography to visualize the dental cementum of 21 specimens: nine contemporary humans; 10 Neanderthals from Krapina (Croatia, 130-120 kyr); one Neolithic Homo sapiens from Ajmana (Serbia); and one Mesolithic H. sapiens from Vlasac (Serbia). We were able to correctly detect and time (root mean square error = 2.1 years; R2 = 0.98) all reproductive (menarche, parturition, menopause) and other physiologically impactful events in the modern sample. Nonetheless, we could not distinguish between the causes of the events detected. For the fossil specimens, we estimated age at death and age at occurrence of biologically significant events. Finally, we performed an exploratory analysis regarding possible sexual dimorphism in dental cementum microstructure, which allowed us to correctly infer the sex of the Neolithic specimen, for which the true value was known via DNA analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Cerrito
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alessia Nava
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Davorka Radovčić
- Department of Geology and Paleontology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dušan Borić
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Tricia Basdeo
- Department of Anthropology, Adelphi University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Guido Ruggiero
- Ruggiero-Piscopo Dental Practice, Naples, Italy
- Molise Regional Health Authority, Venafro, Italy
| | - David W. Frayer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Alexander P. Kao
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Luca Bondioli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Lucia Mancini
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Timothy G. Bromage
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA
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Newham E, Gill PG, Robson Brown K, Gostling NJ, Corfe IJ, Schneider P. A robust, semi-automated approach for counting cementum increments imaged with synchrotron X-ray computed tomography. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0249743. [PMID: 34735460 PMCID: PMC8568193 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cementum, the tissue attaching mammal tooth roots to the periodontal ligament, grows appositionally throughout life, displaying a series of circum-annual incremental features. These have been studied for decades as a direct record of chronological lifespan. The majority of previous studies on cementum have used traditional thin-section histological methods to image and analyse increments. However, several caveats have been raised in terms of studying cementum increments in thin-sections. Firstly, the limited number of thin-sections and the two-dimensional perspective they impart provide an incomplete interpretation of cementum structure, and studies often struggle or fail to overcome complications in increment patterns that complicate or inhibit increment counting. Increments have been repeatedly shown to both split and coalesce, creating accessory increments that can bias increment counts. Secondly, identification and counting of cementum increments using human vision is subjective, and it has led to inaccurate readings in several experiments studying individuals of known age. Here, we have attempted to optimise a recently introduced imaging modality for cementum imaging; X-ray propagation-based phase-contrast imaging (PPCI). X-ray PPCI was performed for a sample of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) lower first molars (n = 10) from a laboratory population of known age. PPCI allowed the qualitative identification of primary/annual versus intermittent secondary increments formed by splitting/coalescence. A new method for semi-automatic increment counting was then integrated into a purpose-built software package for studying cementum increments, to count increments in regions with minimal complications. Qualitative comparison with data from conventional cementochronology, based on histological examination of tissue thin-sections, confirmed that X-ray PPCI reliably and non-destructively records cementum increments (given the appropriate preparation of specimens prior to X-ray imaging). Validation of the increment counting algorithm suggests that it is robust and provides accurate estimates of increment counts. In summary, we show that our new increment counting method has the potential to overcome caveats of conventional cementochronology approaches, when used to analyse three-dimensional images provided by X-ray PPCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elis Newham
- Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Pamela G. Gill
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kate Robson Brown
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Neil J. Gostling
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Ian J. Corfe
- Developmental Biology Program, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo, Finland
| | - Philipp Schneider
- Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- High-Performance Vision Systems, Center for Vision, Automation & Control, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria
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6
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Rossides C, Pender SLF, Schneider P. 3D cyclorama for digital unrolling and visualisation of deformed tubes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14672. [PMID: 34282170 PMCID: PMC8289852 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93184-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Colonic crypts are tubular glands that multiply through a symmetric branching process called crypt fission. During the early stages of colorectal cancer, the normal fission process is disturbed, leading to asymmetrical branching or budding. The challenging shapes of the budding crypts make it difficult to prepare paraffin sections for conventional histology, resulting in colonic cross sections with crypts that are only partially visible. To study crypt budding in situ and in three dimensions (3D), we employ X-ray micro-computed tomography to image intact colons, and a new method we developed (3D cyclorama) to digitally unroll them. Here, we present, verify and validate our '3D cyclorama' method that digitally unrolls deformed tubes of non-uniform thickness. It employs principles from electrostatics to reform the tube into a series of onion-like surfaces, which are mapped onto planar panoramic views. This enables the study of features extending over several layers of the tube's depth, demonstrated here by two case studies: (i) microvilli in the human placenta and (ii) 3D-printed adhesive films for drug delivery. Our 3D cyclorama method can provide novel insights into a wide spectrum of applications where digital unrolling or flattening is necessary, including long bones, teeth roots and ancient scrolls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charalambos Rossides
- Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Sylvia L F Pender
- School of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Philipp Schneider
- Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
- High-Performance Vision Systems, Center for Vision, Automation & Control, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria.
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7
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Cerrito P, Cerrito L, Hu B, Bailey SE, Kalisher R, Bromage TG. Weaning, parturitions and illnesses are recorded in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) dental cementum microstructure. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23235. [PMID: 33522634 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Many open questions in evolutionary studies relate to species' physiological adaptations, including the evolution of their life history and reproductive strategies. There are few empirical methods capable of detecting and timing physiologically impactful events such as weaning, parturition and illnesses from hard tissue remains of either extant or extinct species. Cementum is an incremental tissue with post eruption annual periodicity, which covers the tooth root and functions as a recording structure of an animal's physiology. Here we test the hypothesis that it is possible to detect and time physiologically impactful events through the analysis of dental cementum microstructure. Our sample comprises 41 permanent and deciduous teeth from male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with known medical, lifestyle and life history information. We develop a semi-automated method of cementum histological analysis for the purpose of event detection and timing, aimed at significantly reducing the amount of intra- and interobserver errors typically associated with histological analyses. The results of our work show that we were able to detect known events including weaning, parturition, illness and physical trauma with high accuracy (false negative rate = 3.2%; n = 1), and to time them within an average absolute difference of 0.43 years (R2 = .98; p < .05). Nonetheless, we could not distinguish between the several types of stressful events underlying the changes in cementum microstructure. While this study is the first to identify a variety of life history events in macaque dental cementum, laying foundations for future work in conservation and evolutionary studies of both primates and toothed mammals at large, there are some limitations. Other types of analyses (possibly chemical ones) are necessary to tease apart the causes of the stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Cerrito
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA.,Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Bin Hu
- Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, USA
| | - Shara E Bailey
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Rachel Kalisher
- Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Timothy G Bromage
- Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, USA
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