Cryogenian evolution of stigmasteroid biosynthesis

Hoshino, Yuma; Poshibaeva, A. R.; Meredith, Will; Snape, Colin E.; Poshibaev, V. V.; Versteegh, Gerard J.M.; Кузнецов, Н. Б.; Leider, Arne; Maldegem, Lennart van; Neumann, Mareike; Naeher, Sebastian; Moczydłowska, Małgorzata; Brocks, Jochen J.; Jarrett, Amber J. M.; Qing, Tang; Xiao, Shuhai; McKirdy, David M.; Das, Samarjit; Álvaro, J. Javier; Sansjofre, Pierre; Hallmann, Christian

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700887

Cited by 62 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Stigmastane (regular C 29 sterane) was seemingly absent in both the free and bound phases from all four outcrop samples from the Chuar Group. This finding is consistent with previously published biomarker data from the Kwagunt Formation, and the absence of any known C 29 sterane series seems to be an attribute common to pre‐Sturtian sedimentary strata thus far, which have been selected for their appropriate thermal maturity and possess no significant contributions of organic contamination from younger/exogenous hydrocarbons (Brocks et al, , ; Hoshino et al, ; Isson et al, ; Summons et al, ; Vogel et al, ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Thus, we perceive that the initial “rise of algae” occurred during the Tonian Period, as discerned from the common occurrence of regular steranes in conjunction with at least a two orders of magnitude rise in S/H compared with the Mesoproterozoic rock record (Figure ). It was a later rise of green algae which prevailed during the Cryogenian Period, as evidenced from the switch from a C 27 to a C 29 sterane dominance (Brocks et al, ; Hoshino et al, ; Love et al, ). This green algal preference was sustained in the marine realm through the Ediacaran Period and through most of the Paleozoic Era.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Free and kerogen‐bound biomarkers from late Tonian sedimentary rocks record abundant eukaryotes in mid‐Neoproterozoic marine communities

2019

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Lipid biomarker assemblages preserved within the bitumen and kerogen phases of sedimentary rocks from the ca. 780-729 Ma Chuar and Visingsö Groups facilitate paleoenvironmental reconstructions and reveal fundamental aspects of emerging mid-Neoproterozoic marine communities. The Chuar and Visingsö Groups were deposited offshore of two distinct paleocontinents (Laurentia and Baltica, respectively) during the Tonian Period, and the rock samples used had not undergone excessive metamorphism. The major polycyclic alkane biomarkers detected in the rock bitumens and kerogen hydropyrolysates consist of tricyclic terpanes, hopanes, methylhopanes, and steranes. Major features of the biomarker assemblages include detectable and significant contribution from eukaryotes, encompassing the first robust occurrences of kerogen-bound regular steranes from Tonian rocks, including 21-norcholestane, 27-norcholestane, cholestane, ergostane, and cryostane, along with a novel unidentified C 30 sterane series from our least thermally mature Chuar Group samples.Appreciable values for the sterane/hopane (S/H) ratio are found for both the free and kerogen-bound biomarker pools for both the Chuar Group rocks (S/H between 0.09 and 1.26) and the Visingsö Group samples (S/H between 0.03 and 0.37). The more organic-rich rock samples generally yield higher S/H ratios than for organic-lean substrates, which suggests a marine nutrient control on eukaryotic abundance relative to bacteria. A C 27 sterane (cholestane) predominance among total C 26 -C 30 steranes is a common feature found for all samples investigated, with lower amounts of C 28 steranes (ergostane and crysotane) also present. No traces of known ancient C 30 sterane compounds; including 24-isopropylcholestanes, 24-n-propylcholestanes, or 26-methylstigmastanes, are detectable in any of these pre-Sturtian rocks. These biomarker characteristics support the view that the Tonian Period was a key interval in the history of life on our planet since it marked the transition from a bacterially dominated marine biosphere to an ocean system which became progressively enriched with eukaryotes. The eukaryotic source organisms likely encompassed photosynthetic primary producers, marking a rise in red algae, and consumers in a revamped trophic structure predating the Sturtian glaciation. K E Y W O R D S eukaryotes, HyPy, lipid biomarkers, Neoproterozoic, steranes | 327 ZUMBERGE Et al.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free and kerogen‐bound biomarkers from late Tonian sedimentary rocks record abundant eukaryotes in mid‐Neoproterozoic marine communities

2019

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“…Based on biomarkers, bacteria were the only notable primary producers in Paleo-and Mesoproterozoic oceans 31 . Primitive eukaryotic sterane signatures emerged 900-800 Ma ago 15,32 , although the overall H/S ratio remained high (70% of values are H/S > 29.5, and steranes are below detection limits in 43% of samples that contain hopanes). Moreover, it is unclear whether steranes in Tonian sediments are derived from algae or other organisms 15 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food sources for the Ediacara biota communities

et al. 2020

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The Ediacara biota represents the first complex macroscopic organisms in the geological record, foreshadowing the radiation of eumetazoan animals in the Cambrian explosion. However, little is known about the contingencies that lead to their emergence, including the possible roles of nutrient availability and the quality of food sources. Here we present information on primary producers in the Ediacaran based on biomarker molecules that were extracted from sediments hosting Ediacaran macrofossils. High relative abundances of algal steranes over bacterial hopanes suggest that the Ediacara biota inhabited nutrient replete environments with an abundance of algal food sources comparable to Phanerozoic ecosystems. Thus, organisms of the Ediacara biota inhabited nutrient-rich environments akin to those that later fuelled the Cambrian explosion.

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“…However, Tonian steranes maintain a primitive homologue distribution with a nearly 100% predominance of cholestane (C 27 ), and traces of ergostane (C 28 ) and the unique sterane cryostane (26‐methylcholestane; Adam, Schaeffer, Paulus, & Brocks, ; Brocks et al., ). Stigmastane (C 29 ) remains undetectable in the Tonian (Hoshino et al., ). Sterane diversity and abundance dramatically increase in the Cryogenian (720–635 Ma), in the warm period between the Sturtian and Marinoan Snowball Earth glaciations 659–645 Ma ago, heralding the rise of algae as ecologically important primary producers in the oceans (Brocks et al., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial assemblage and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the 1.38 Ga Velkerri Formation, McArthur Basin, northern Australia

et al. 2019

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The ca . 1.38 billion years (Ga) old Roper Group of the McArthur Basin, northern Australia, is one of the most extensive Proterozoic hydrocarbon‐bearing units. Organic‐rich black siltstones from the Velkerri Formation were deposited in a deep‐water sequence and were analysed to determine their organic geochemical (biomarker) signatures, which were used to interpret the microbial diversity and palaeoenvironment of the Roper Seaway. The indigenous hydrocarbon biomarker assemblages describe a water column dominated by bacteria with large‐scale heterotrophic reworking of the organic matter in the water column or bottom sediment. Possible evidence for microbial reworking includes a large unresolved complex mixture ( UCM ), high ratios of mid‐chained and terminally branched monomethyl alkanes relative to n ‐alkanes—features characteristic of indigenous Proterozoic bitumen. Steranes, biomarkers for single‐celled and multicellular eukaryotes, were below detection limits in all extracts analysed, despite eukaryotic microfossils having been previously identified in the Roper Group, albeit largely in organically lean shallower water facies. These data suggest that eukaryotes, while present in the Roper Seaway, were ecologically restricted and contributed little to export production. The 2,3,4‐ and 2,3,6‐trimethyl aryl isoprenoids ( TMAI ) were absent or in very low concentration in the Velkerri Formation. The low abundance is primary and not caused by thermal destruction. The combination of increased dibenzothiophene in the Amungee Member of the Velkerri Formation and trace metal redox geochemistry suggests that degradation of carotenoids occurred during intermittent oxygen exposure at the sediment–water interface and/or the water column was rarely euxinic in the photic zone and likely only transiently euxinic at depth. A comparison of this work with recently published biomarker and trace elemental studies from other mid‐Proterozoic basins demonstrates that microbial environments, water column geochemistry and basin redox were heterogeneous.

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Cryogenian evolution of stigmasteroid biosynthesis

Abstract: Biosynthesis of C29 sterols, enhancing eukaryotic temperature resistance, evolved during the global Neoproterozoic glaciations.

Cited by 62 publications

References 107 publications

Free and kerogen‐bound biomarkers from late Tonian sedimentary rocks record abundant eukaryotes in mid‐Neoproterozoic marine communities

Free and kerogen‐bound biomarkers from late Tonian sedimentary rocks record abundant eukaryotes in mid‐Neoproterozoic marine communities

Food sources for the Ediacara biota communities

Microbial assemblage and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the 1.38 Ga Velkerri Formation, McArthur Basin, northern Australia

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