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Siljeström S, Neubeck A, Steele A. Detection of porphyrins in vertebrate fossils from the Messel and implications for organic preservation in the fossil record. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269568. [PMID: 35767560 PMCID: PMC9242450 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Organic molecules preserved in fossils provide a wealth of new information about ancient life. The discovery of almost unaltered complex organic molecules in well-preserved fossils raise the question of how common such occurrences are in the fossil record, how to differentiate between endogenous and exogenous sources for the organic matter and what promotes such preservation. The aim of this study was the in-situ analysis of a well-preserved vertebrate fossil from 48 Ma Eocene sediments in the Messel pit, Germany for preservation of complex biomolecules. The fossil was characterized using a variety of techniques including time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. A suite of organic molecules was detected, including porphyrins, which given the context of the detected signal are most probably diagenetically altered heme originating from the fossil though a microbial contribution cannot be completely ruled out. Diagenetic changes to the porphyrin structure were observed that included the exchange of the central iron by nickel. Further analyses on the geochemistry of the fossil and surrounding sediments showed presence of pyrite and aluminosilicates, most likely clay. In addition, a carbonate and calcium phosphate dominated crust has formed around the fossil. This suggests that several different processes are involved in the preservation of the fossil and the organic molecules associated with it. Similar processes seem to have also been involved in preservation of heme in fossils from other localities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Siljeström
- Department of Methodology, Textiles and Medical Technology, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Anna Neubeck
- Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Andrew Steele
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planetary Laboratory, Washington, DC, United States of America
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Colleary C, Lamadrid HM, O'Reilly SS, Dolocan A, Nesbitt SJ. Molecular preservation in mammoth bone and variation based on burial environment. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2662. [PMID: 33514821 PMCID: PMC7846728 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81849-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomolecules preserved in fossils are expanding our understanding of the biology and evolution of ancient animals. Molecular taphonomy seeks to understand how these biomolecules are preserved and how they can be interpreted. So far, few studies on molecular preservation have considered burial context to understand its impact on preservation or the potentially complementary information from multiple biomolecular classes. Here, we use mass spectrometry and other analytical techniques to detect the remains of proteins and lipids within intact fossil mammoth bones of different ages and varied depositional setting. By combining these approaches, we demonstrate that endogenous amino acids, amides and lipids can preserve well in fossil bone. Additionally, these techniques enable us to examine variation in preservation based on location within the bone, finding dense cortical bone better preserves biomolecules, both by slowing the rate of degradation and limiting the extent of exogenous contamination. Our dataset demonstrates that biomolecule loss begins early, is impacted by burial environment and temperature, and that both exogenous and endogenous molecular signals can be both present and informative in a single fossil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Colleary
- Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA. .,Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
| | - Hector M Lamadrid
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Shane S O'Reilly
- School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Andrei Dolocan
- Texas Materials Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
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Abstract
Introduction: Despite an extensive published literature, skepticism over the claim of original biochemicals including proteins preserved in the fossil record persists and the issue remains controversial. Workers using many different techniques including mass spectrometry, X-ray, electron microscopy and optical spectroscopic techniques, have attempted to verify proteinaceous or other biochemicals that appear endogenous to fossils found throughout the geologic column.Areas covered: This paper presents a review of the relevant literature published over the last 50 years. A comparative survey of the reported techniques used is also given.Expert opinion: Morphological and molecular investigations show that original biochemistry is geologically extensive, geographically global, and taxonomically wide-ranging. The survival of endogenous organics in fossils remains the subject of widespread and increasing research investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Thomas
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Stephen Taylor
- Mass Spectrometry Group, Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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Lindgren J, Sjövall P, Thiel V, Zheng W, Ito S, Wakamatsu K, Hauff R, Kear BP, Engdahl A, Alwmark C, Eriksson ME, Jarenmark M, Sachs S, Ahlberg PE, Marone F, Kuriyama T, Gustafsson O, Malmberg P, Thomen A, Rodríguez-Meizoso I, Uvdal P, Ojika M, Schweitzer MH. Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur. Nature 2018; 564:359-365. [PMID: 30518862 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Ichthyosaurs are extinct marine reptiles that display a notable external similarity to modern toothed whales. Here we show that this resemblance is more than skin deep. We apply a multidisciplinary experimental approach to characterize the cellular and molecular composition of integumental tissues in an exceptionally preserved specimen of the Early Jurassic ichthyosaur Stenopterygius. Our analyses recovered still-flexible remnants of the original scaleless skin, which comprises morphologically distinct epidermal and dermal layers. These are underlain by insulating blubber that would have augmented streamlining, buoyancy and homeothermy. Additionally, we identify endogenous proteinaceous and lipid constituents, together with keratinocytes and branched melanophores that contain eumelanin pigment. Distributional variation of melanophores across the body suggests countershading, possibly enhanced by physiological adjustments of colour to enable photoprotection, concealment and/or thermoregulation. Convergence of ichthyosaurs with extant marine amniotes thus extends to the ultrastructural and molecular levels, reflecting the omnipresent constraints of their shared adaptation to pelagic life.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Sjövall
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Chemistry and Materials, Borås, Sweden
| | - Volker Thiel
- Geobiology, Geoscience Centre, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wenxia Zheng
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Shosuke Ito
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Kazumasa Wakamatsu
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | | | | | | | - Carl Alwmark
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | | | - Sven Sachs
- Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Per E Ahlberg
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Federica Marone
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Takeo Kuriyama
- Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Hyogo, Japan.,Wildlife Management Research Center, Hyogo, Japan
| | | | - Per Malmberg
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Aurélien Thomen
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Per Uvdal
- Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Makoto Ojika
- Department of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Mary H Schweitzer
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.,North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA
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O'Reilly S, Summons R, Mayr G, Vinther J. Preservation of uropygial gland lipids in a 48-million-year-old bird. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1050. [PMID: 29046383 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although various kinds of organic molecules are known to occur in fossils and rocks, most soft tissue preservation in animals is attributed to melanin or porphyrins. Lipids are particularly stable over time-as diagenetically altered 'geolipids' or as major molecular constituents of kerogen or fossil 'geopolymers'-and may be expected to be preserved in certain vertebrate tissues. Here we analysed lipid residues from the uropygial gland of an early Eocene bird using pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectroscopy. We found a pattern of aliphatic molecules in the fossil gland that was distinct from the host oil shale sediment matrix and from feathers of the same fossil. The fossil gland contained abundant n-alkenes, n-alkanes and alkylbenzenes with chain lengths greater than 20, as well as functionalized long-chain aldehydes, ketones, alkylnitriles and alkylthiophenes that were not detected in host sediment or fossil feathers. By comparison with modern bird uropygial gland wax esters, we show that these molecular fossils are likely derived from endogenous wax ester fatty alcohols and fatty acids that survived initial decay and underwent early diagenetic geopolymerization. These data demonstrate the high fidelity preservation of the uropygial gland waxes and showcase the resilience of lipids over geologic time and their potential role in the exceptional preservation of lipid-rich tissues of macrofossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane O'Reilly
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 45 Carleton St., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA .,School of Earth Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Roger Summons
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 45 Carleton St., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Gerald Mayr
- Department of Ornithology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jakob Vinther
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.,School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
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