Saitta, Evan T., Liang, Renxing, Lau, Maggie Cy et al. (16 more authors) (2019) Cretaceous dinosaur bone contains recent organic material and provides an environment conducive to microbial communities. eLife. e46205. ISSN 2050-084X
Abstract
Fossils were thought to lack original organic molecules, but chemical analyses show that some can survive. Dinosaur bone has been proposed to preserve collagen, osteocytes, and blood vessels. However, proteins and labile lipids are diagenetically unstable, and bone is a porous open system, allowing microbial/molecular flux. These 'soft tissues' have been reinterpreted as biofilms. Organic preservation versus contamination of dinosaur bone was examined by freshly excavating, with aseptic protocols, fossils and sedimentary matrix, and chemically/biologically analyzing them. Fossil 'soft tissues' differed from collagen chemically and structurally; while degradation would be expected, the patterns observed did not support this. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed that dinosaur bone hosted an abundant microbial community different from lesser abundant communities of surrounding sediment. Subsurface dinosaur bone is a relatively fertile habitat, attracting microbes that likely utilize inorganic nutrients and complicate identification of original organic material. There exists potential post-burial taphonomic roles for subsurface microorganisms.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019, Saitta et al. |
Keywords: | biochemistry,chemical biology,fossils,infectious disease,microbiology,microbiome,proteins |
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 Arts and Humanities (York) > History of Art (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 08 Jul 2019 12:10 |
Last Modified: | 01 Dec 2024 01:13 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.46205 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.7554/eLife.46205 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:148252 |