Ossa Ossa, F, Pons, M-L, Bekker, A et al. (9 more authors) (Cover date: 1 June 2023) Zinc enrichment and isotopic fractionation in a marine habitat of the c. 2.1 Ga Francevillian Group: A signature of zinc utilization by eukaryotes? Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 611. 118147. ISSN 0012-821X
Abstract
Constraining the timing of eukaryogenesis and the divergence of eukaryotic clades is a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Here, we present trace metal concentration and zinc isotope data for c. 2.1 billion-year-old Francevillian Group pyritized structures, previously described as putative remnants of the first colonial multicellular organisms, and their host black shales. Relative to the host rocks, pyritized structures are strongly enriched in zinc, cobalt and nickel, by at least one order of magnitude, with markedly lighter zinc isotope compositions. A metabolic demand for high concentrations of aqueous zinc, cobalt, and nickel combined with preferential uptake of lighter zinc isotopes may indicate metalloenzyme utilization by eukaryotes in marine habitats c. 2.1 billion years ago. Once confirmed, this would provide a critical calibration point for eukaryogenesis, suggesting that this major evolutionary innovation may have happened contemporaneously with elevated atmospheric oxygen levels during the latter part of the Great Oxidation Event, some 400 million years earlier than is currently widely accepted.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Paleoproterozoic, Great Oxidation Event, Francevillian Group, zinc uptake, metalloenzyme, origin of eukaryotes |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Royal Society WM150108 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 Mar 2023 09:38 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jul 2023 14:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118147 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:197720 |