McCoy, Victoria E., Gabbott, Sarah E., Penkman, Kirsty orcid.org/0000-0002-6226-9799 et al. (8 more authors) (2019) Ancient amino acids from fossil feathers in amber. Scientific Reports. 6420. pp. 1-8. ISSN 2045-2322
Abstract
Ancient protein analysis is a rapidly developing field of research. Proteins ranging in age from the Quaternary to Jurassic are being used to answer questions about phylogeny, evolution, and extinction. However, these analyses are sometimes contentious, and focus primarily on large vertebrates in sedimentary fossilisation environments; there are few studies of protein preservation in fossils in amber. Here we show exceptionally slow racemisation rates during thermal degradation experiments of resin enclosed feathers, relative to previous thermal degradation experiments of ostrich eggshell, coral skeleton, and limpet shell. We also recover amino acids from two specimens of fossil feathers in amber. The amino acid compositions are broadly similar to those of degraded feathers, but concentrations are very low, suggesting that much of the original protein has been degraded and lost. High levels of racemisation in more apolar, slowly racemising amino acids suggest that some of the amino acids were ancient and therefore original. Our findings indicate that the unique fossilisation environment inside amber shows potential for the recovery of ancient amino acids and proteins.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019, The Author(s). |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Chemistry (York) The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > Archaeology (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Mathematics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 24 Apr 2019 13:20 |
Last Modified: | 10 Jan 2025 00:06 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42938-9 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41598-019-42938-9 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:145329 |
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