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Decoding the Evolution of Melanin in Vertebrates. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:430-443. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Roy A, Pittman M, Saitta ET, Kaye TG, Xu X. Recent advances in amniote palaeocolour reconstruction and a framework for future research. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:22-50. [PMID: 31538399 PMCID: PMC7004074 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Preserved melanin pigments have been discovered in fossilised integumentary appendages of several amniote lineages (fishes, frogs, snakes, marine reptiles, non-avialan dinosaurs, birds, and mammals) excavated from lagerstätten across the globe. Melanisation is a leading factor in organic integument preservation in these fossils. Melanin in extant vertebrates is typically stored in rod- to sphere-shaped, lysosome-derived, membrane-bound vesicles called melanosomes. Black, dark brown, and grey colours are produced by eumelanin, and reddish-brown colours are produced by phaeomelanin. Specific morphotypes and nanostructural arrangements of melanosomes and their relation to the keratin matrix in integumentary appendages create the so-called 'structural colours'. Reconstruction of colour patterns in ancient animals has opened an exciting new avenue for studying their life, behaviour and ecology. Modern relationships between the shape, arrangement, and size of avian melanosomes, melanin chemistry, and feather colour have been applied to reconstruct the hues and colour patterns of isolated feathers and plumages of the dinosaurs Anchiornis, Sinosauropteryx, and Microraptor in seminal papers that initiated the field of palaeocolour reconstruction. Since then, further research has identified countershading camouflage patterns, and informed subsequent predictions on the ecology and behaviour of these extinct animals. However, palaeocolour reconstruction remains a nascent field, and current approaches have considerable potential for further refinement, standardisation, and expansion. This includes detailed study of non-melanic pigments that might be preserved in fossilised integuments. A common issue among existing palaeocolour studies is the lack of contextualisation of different lines of evidence and the wide variety of techniques currently employed. To that end, this review focused on fossil amniotes: (i) produces an overarching framework that appropriately reconstructs palaeocolour by accounting for the chemical signatures of various pigments, morphology and local arrangement of pigment-bearing vesicles, pigment concentration, macroscopic colour patterns, and taphonomy; (ii) provides background context for the evolution of colour-producing mechanisms; and (iii) encourages future efforts in palaeocolour reconstructions particularly of less-studied groups such as non-dinosaur archosaurs and non-archosaur amniotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arindam Roy
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Department of Earth SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong SARChina
| | - Michael Pittman
- Vertebrate Palaeontology Laboratory, Department of Earth SciencesThe University of Hong KongPokfulamHong Kong SARChina
| | - Evan T. Saitta
- Integrative Research Center, Section of Earth SciencesField Museum of Natural History1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, ChicagoIL60605U.S.A.
| | - Thomas G. Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement7023 Alhambra Drive, Sierra VistaAZ85650U.S.A.
| | - Xing Xu
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of Sciences142 Xizhimenwai Street.Beijing100044China
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Pinheiro FL, Prado G, Ito S, Simon JD, Wakamatsu K, Anelli LE, Andrade JAF, Glass K. Chemical characterization of pterosaur melanin challenges color inferences in extinct animals. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15947. [PMID: 31685890 PMCID: PMC6828676 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52318-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Melanosomes (melanin-bearing organelles) are common in the fossil record occurring as dense packs of globular microbodies. The organic component comprising the melanosome, melanin, is often preserved in fossils, allowing identification of the chemical nature of the constituent pigment. In present-day vertebrates, melanosome morphology correlates with their pigment content in selected melanin-containing structures, and this interdependency is employed in the color reconstruction of extinct animals. The lack of analyses integrating the morphology of fossil melanosomes with the chemical identification of pigments, however, makes these inferences tentative. Here, we chemically characterize the melanin content of the soft tissue headcrest of the pterosaur Tupandactylus imperator by alkaline hydrogen peroxide oxidation followed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Our results demonstrate the unequivocal presence of eumelanin in T. imperator headcrest. Scanning electron microscopy followed by statistical analyses, however, reveal that preserved melanosomes containing eumelanin are undistinguishable to pheomelanin-bearing organelles of extant vertebrates. Based on these new findings, straightforward color inferences based on melanosome morphology may not be valid for all fossil vertebrates, and color reconstructions based on ultrastructure alone should be regarded with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe L Pinheiro
- Laboratório de Paleobiologia, Universidade Federal do Pampa, São Gabriel, 97300-162, Brazil.
| | - Gustavo Prado
- Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Shosuke Ito
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi, 470-1192, Japan
| | | | - Kazumasa Wakamatsu
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi, 470-1192, Japan
| | - Luiz E Anelli
- Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - José A F Andrade
- Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas da Chapada do Araripe, Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral, 63100-440, Crato, Brazil
| | - Keely Glass
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
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Benton MJ, Dhouailly D, Jiang B, McNamara M. The Early Origin of Feathers. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 34:856-869. [PMID: 31164250 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Feathers have long been regarded as the innovation that drove the success of birds. However, feathers have been reported from close dinosaurian relatives of birds, and now from ornithischian dinosaurs and pterosaurs, the cousins of dinosaurs. Incomplete preservation makes these reports controversial. If true, these findings shift the origin of feathers back 80 million years before the origin of birds. Gene regulatory networks show the deep homology of scales, feathers, and hairs. Hair and feathers likely evolved in the Early Triassic ancestors of mammals and birds, at a time when synapsids and archosaurs show independent evidence of higher metabolic rates (erect gait and endothermy), as part of a major resetting of terrestrial ecosystems following the devastating end-Permian mass extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Baoyu Jiang
- School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Maria McNamara
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Cork, Cork, Ireland
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Combined microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to characterize a fossilized feather with minimal damage to the specimen. Micron 2019; 120:17-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2019.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Revised: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Cullen TM, Longstaffe FJ, Wortmann UG, Goodwin MB, Huang L, Evans DC. Stable isotopic characterization of a coastal floodplain forest community: a case study for isotopic reconstruction of Mesozoic vertebrate assemblages. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:181210. [PMID: 30891263 PMCID: PMC6408390 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Stable isotopes are powerful tools for elucidating ecological trends in extant vertebrate communities, though their application to Mesozoic ecosystems is complicated by a lack of extant isotope data from comparable environments/ecosystems (e.g. coastal floodplain forest environments, lacking significant C4 plant components). We sampled 20 taxa across a broad phylogenetic, body size, and physiological scope from the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana as an environmental analogue to the Late Cretaceous coastal floodplains of North America. Samples were analysed for stable carbon, oxygen and nitrogen isotope compositions from bioapatite and keratin tissues to test the degree of ecological resolution that can be determined in a system with similar environmental conditions, and using similar constraints, as those in many Mesozoic assemblages. Isotopic results suggest a broad overlap in resource use among taxa and considerable terrestrial-aquatic interchange, highlighting the challenges of ecological interpretation in C3 systems, particularly when lacking observational data for comparison. We also propose a modified oxygen isotope-temperature equation that uses mean endotherm and mean ectotherm isotope data to more precisely predict temperature when compared with measured Atchafalaya River water data. These results provide a critical isotopic baseline for coastal floodplain forests, and act as a framework for future studies of Mesozoic palaeoecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Cullen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2
- Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6
| | - F J Longstaffe
- Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
| | - U G Wortmann
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B1
| | - M B Goodwin
- University of California Museum of Paleontology, 1101 Valley Life Sciences, Berkeley, CA 94720-4780, USA
| | - L Huang
- Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
| | - D C Evans
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2
- Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6
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Li Q, Clarke JA, Gao KQ, Peteya JA, Shawkey MD. Elaborate plumage patterning in a Cretaceous bird. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5831. [PMID: 30405969 PMCID: PMC6216952 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Integumentary patterns and colors can differentiate species, sexes, and life changes and can inform on habitat and ecology. However, they are rarely preserved in the fossil record. Here, we report on an extremely well-preserved specimen of the Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis with unprecedented complexity, including small spots on the wings, crest, and throat. Morphological and chemical evidence suggest that these patterns are produced by melanin, but unusual preservation prevents assignment of specific colors. Based on comparisons with extant birds, these patterns were likely used for camouflage, although other functions including sexual signaling cannot be ruled out. Our data show that even more elaborate plumage patterns than the spangles in Anchiornis and stripes in Sinosauropteryx were present at a relatively early stage of avian evolution, showing the significance of coloration and patterning to feather evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quanguo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
| | - Julia A Clarke
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Matthew D Shawkey
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Belgium
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Non-integumentary melanosomes can bias reconstructions of the colours of fossil vertebrates. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2878. [PMID: 30038333 PMCID: PMC6056411 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05148-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2014] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The soft tissues of many fossil vertebrates preserve evidence of melanosomes—micron-scale organelles that inform on integumentary coloration and communication strategies. In extant vertebrates, however, melanosomes also occur in internal tissues. Hence, fossil melanosomes may not derive solely from the integument and its appendages. Here, by analyzing extant and fossil frogs, we show that non-integumentary melanosomes have high fossilization potential, vastly outnumber those from the skin, and potentially dominate the melanosome films preserved in some fossil vertebrates. Our decay experiments show that non-integumentary melanosomes usually remain in situ provided that carcasses are undisturbed. Micron-scale study of fossils, however, demonstrates that non-integumentary melanosomes can redistribute through parts of the body if carcasses are disturbed by currents. Collectively, these data indicate that fossil melanosomes do not always relate to integumentary coloration. Integumentary and non-integumentary melanosomes can be discriminated using melanosome geometry and distribution. This is essential to accurate reconstructions of the integumentary colours of fossil vertebrates. The colour of extinct animals has been inferred from fossilized melanosomes – organelles rich in melanin. Here, the authors show that internal melanosomes that do not contribute to colour are abundant in some extant vertebrates and may redistribute during fossilization, necessitating caution in interpreting fossil colour.
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Moyer AE, Zheng W, Schweitzer MH. Microscopic and immunohistochemical analyses of the claw of the nesting dinosaur, Citipati osmolskae. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1997. [PMID: 28120795 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the most well-recognized Cretaceous fossils is Citipati osmolskae (MPC-D 100/979), an oviraptorid dinosaur discovered in brooding position on a nest of unhatched eggs. The original description refers to a thin lens of white material extending from a manus ungual, which was proposed to represent original keratinous claw sheath that, in life, would have covered it. Here, we test the hypothesis that this exceptional morphological preservation extends to the molecular level. The fossil sheath was compared with that of extant birds, revealing similar morphology and microstructural organization. In living birds, the claw sheath consists primarily of two structural proteins; alpha-keratin, expressed in all vertebrates, and beta-keratin, found only in reptiles and birds (sauropsids). We employed antibodies raised against avian feathers, which comprise almost entirely of beta-keratin, to demonstrate that fossil tissues respond with the same specificity, though less intensity, as those from living birds. Furthermore, we show that calcium chelation greatly increased antibody reactivity, suggesting a role for calcium in the preservation of this fossil material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison E Moyer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA .,Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Wenxia Zheng
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Mary H Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.,North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
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Gabbott SE, Donoghue PCJ, Sansom RS, Vinther J, Dolocan A, Purnell MA. Pigmented anatomy in Carboniferous cyclostomes and the evolution of the vertebrate eye. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1151. [PMID: 27488650 PMCID: PMC5013770 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The success of vertebrates is linked to the evolution of a camera-style eye and sophisticated visual system. In the absence of useful data from fossils, scenarios for evolutionary assembly of the vertebrate eye have been based necessarily on evidence from development, molecular genetics and comparative anatomy in living vertebrates. Unfortunately, steps in the transition from a light-sensitive ‘eye spot’ in invertebrate chordates to an image-forming camera-style eye in jawed vertebrates are constrained only by hagfish and lampreys (cyclostomes), which are interpreted to reflect either an intermediate or degenerate condition. Here, we report—based on evidence of size, shape, preservation mode and localized occurrence—the presence of melanosomes (pigment-bearing organelles) in fossil cyclostome eyes. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses reveal secondary ions with a relative intensity characteristic of melanin as revealed through principal components analyses. Our data support the hypotheses that extant hagfish eyes are degenerate, not rudimentary, that cyclostomes are monophyletic, and that the ancestral vertebrate had a functional visual system. We also demonstrate integument pigmentation in fossil lampreys, opening up the exciting possibility of investigating colour patterning in Palaeozoic vertebrates. The examples we report add to the record of melanosome preservation in Carboniferous fossils and attest to surprising durability of melanosomes and biomolecular melanin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Gabbott
- Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | | | - Robert S Sansom
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 6RT, UK
| | - Jakob Vinther
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
| | - Andrei Dolocan
- Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Mark A Purnell
- Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
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Molecular evidence of keratin and melanosomes in feathers of the Early Cretaceous bird Eoconfuciusornis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E7900-E7907. [PMID: 27872291 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1617168113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbodies associated with feathers of both nonavian dinosaurs and early birds were first identified as bacteria but have been reinterpreted as melanosomes. Whereas melanosomes in modern feathers are always surrounded by and embedded in keratin, melanosomes embedded in keratin in fossils has not been demonstrated. Here we provide multiple independent molecular analyses of both microbodies and the associated matrix recovered from feathers of a new specimen of the basal bird Eoconfuciusornis from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of China. Our work represents the oldest ultrastructural and immunological recognition of avian beta-keratin from an Early Cretaceous (∼130-Ma) bird. We apply immunogold to identify protein epitopes at high resolution, by localizing antibody-antigen complexes to specific fossil ultrastructures. Retention of original keratinous proteins in the matrix surrounding electron-opaque microbodies supports their assignment as melanosomes and adds to the criteria employable to distinguish melanosomes from microbial bodies. Our work sheds new light on molecular preservation within normally labile tissues preserved in fossils.
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Moyer AE, Zheng W, Schweitzer MH. Keratin Durability Has Implications for the Fossil Record: Results from a 10 Year Feather Degradation Experiment. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0157699. [PMID: 27384819 PMCID: PMC4934732 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Keratinous ‘soft tissue’ structures (i.e. epidermally derived and originally non-biomineralized), include feathers, skin, claws, beaks, and hair. Despite their relatively common occurrence in the fossil record (second only to bone and teeth), few studies have addressed natural degradation processes that must occur in all organic material, including those keratinous structures that are incorporated into the rock record as fossils. Because feathers have high preservation potential and strong phylogenetic signal, in the current study we examine feathers subjected to different burial environments for a duration of ~10 years, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and in situ immunofluorescence (IF). We use morphology and persistence of specific immunoreactivity as indicators of preservation at the molecular and microstructural levels. We show that feather keratin is durable, demonstrates structural and microstructural integrity, and retains epitopes suitable for specific antibody recognition in even the harshest conditions. These data support the hypothesis that keratin antibody reactivity can be used to identify the nature and composition of epidermal structures in the rock record, and to address evolutionary questions by distinguishing between alpha- (widely distributed) and beta- (limited to sauropsids) keratin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison E. Moyer
- Department of Biological Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Wenxia Zheng
- Department of Biological Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695, United States of America
| | - Mary H. Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27695, United States of America
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh NC 27601, United States of America
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Schweitzer MH, Moyer AE, Zheng W. Testing the Hypothesis of Biofilm as a Source for Soft Tissue and Cell-Like Structures Preserved in Dinosaur Bone. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0150238. [PMID: 26926069 PMCID: PMC4771714 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Recovery of still-soft tissue structures, including blood vessels and osteocytes, from dinosaur bone after demineralization was reported in 2005 and in subsequent publications. Despite multiple lines of evidence supporting an endogenous source, it was proposed that these structures arose from contamination from biofilm-forming organisms. To test the hypothesis that soft tissue structures result from microbial invasion of the fossil bone, we used two different biofilm-forming microorganisms to inoculate modern bone fragments from which organic components had been removed. We show fundamental morphological, chemical and textural differences between the resultant biofilm structures and those derived from dinosaur bone. The data do not support the hypothesis that biofilm-forming microorganisms are the source of these structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Higby Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Alison E. Moyer
- Department of Biological Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Wenxia Zheng
- Department of Biological Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
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