Impact of diagenesis and maturation on the survival of eumelanin in the fossil record

Glass, Keely; Itô, Shôsuke; Wilby, Philip R.; Sota, Takayuki; Nakamura, Atsushi; Bowers, Clifford R.; Miller, Kristen; Dutta, Suryendu; Summons, Roger E.; Briggs, Derek E. G.; Wakamatsu, Kazumasa; Simon, John D.

doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.09.002

Cited by 45 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The fossil Carboniferous fish shows a similar trend in our PCA plot, also suggesting a mixed melanin composition. Another study used pyrolysis GC-MS to study a fossil tadpole from Enspel (38) and could not conclusively present evidence for melanin due to lack of comparisons to extant, fossil, or artificially matured melanin samples and to previous studies on fossil eumelanin using the same experimentation (25,27). However, we show here that, in our comparative framework, the Enspel melanosomes do retain melanin residues, contrary to earlier studies suggesting a microbial origin (39).…”

Section: Melanosome Shrinkage During Burial Diagenesis and Maturationcontrasting

confidence: 97%

“…Glass et al (25,27) documented, using pyrolysis GC-MS, that Jurassic cephalopod ink melanin produced sulfur-containing compounds, such as thiophenes and alkylated thiophenes, which are not expected phaeomelanin products. This suggests a role for early diagenetic alteration and preservation reactions in euxinic (sulfidic) environments, which essentially vulcanize organic substances.…”

Section: Melanosome Shrinkage During Burial Diagenesis and Maturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most conclusive and comprehensive chemical study to date shows the presence of chemically intact melanin in quantities of ∼10% in Jurassic cephalopod ink sacs (25,27). Other studies have demonstrated the applicability of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), a surface-sensitive technique, which collects in situ mass spectrometric data from fossil samples with only minor alteration of the sample surface (7,8,28).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils

Colleary

Dolocan²,

Gardner

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

101

170

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In living organisms, color patterns, behavior, and ecology are closely linked. Thus, detection of fossil pigments may permit inferences about important aspects of ancient animal ecology and evolution. Melanin-bearing melanosomes were suggested to preserve as organic residues in exceptionally preserved fossils, retaining distinct morphology that is associated with aspects of original color patterns. Nevertheless, these oblong and spherical structures have also been identified as fossilized bacteria. To date, chemical studies have not directly considered the effects of diagenesis on melanin preservation, and how this may influence its identification. Here we use time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to identify and chemically characterize melanin in a diverse sample of previously unstudied extant and fossil taxa, including fossils with notably different diagenetic histories and geologic ages. We document signatures consistent with melanin preservation in fossils ranging from feathers, to mammals, to amphibians. Using principal component analyses, we characterize putative mixtures of eumelanin and phaeomelanin in both fossil and extant samples. Surprisingly, both extant and fossil amphibians generally exhibit melanosomes with a mixed eumelanin/phaeomelanin composition rather than pure eumelanin, as assumed previously. We argue that experimental maturation of modern melanin samples replicates diagenetic chemical alteration of melanin observed in fossils. This refutes the hypothesis that such fossil microbodies could be bacteria, and demonstrates that melanin is widely responsible for the organic soft tissue outlines in vertebrates found at exceptional fossil localities, thus allowing for the reconstruction of certain aspects of original pigment patterns.

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Section: Melanosome Shrinkage During Burial Diagenesis and Maturationcontrasting

confidence: 97%

Section: Melanosome Shrinkage During Burial Diagenesis and Maturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils

Colleary

Dolocan²,

Gardner

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

101

170

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“…Nonetheless, maturation experiments on extant feathers designed to simulate the fossilization process have shown that melanosome size can be altered by increasing temperature and/or pressure [75]. Notably though, no consistent morphological modification has yet been documented in presumed fossil melanosomes, and it remains feasible that varying decompositional conditions, as well as mineralization might also effect structural change [60]. Another problem is the possibility that the supposed melanosome imprints could represent microbial cells preserved in mineralized EPS.…”

Section: Melanin and Melanosomes In The Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, for confident identification, chemical fingerprints of eumelanins, pheomelanins and/or their degradation products must be localized to the fossil microbodies (e.g. [56,[59][60][61]). Ideally, these biomarkers should not occur only as trace metals because microbes and the EPS they secrete can concentrate metal ions from the environment [83].…”

Section: A Way Forward: Integrated Morphological and Geochemical Apprmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting melanin-based coloration through deep time: a critical review

et al. 2015

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Colour, derived primarily from melanin and/or carotenoid pigments, is integral to many aspects of behaviour in living vertebrates, including social signalling, sexual display and crypsis. Thus, identifying biochromes in extinct animals can shed light on the acquisition and evolution of these biological traits. Both eumelanin and melanin-containing cellular organelles (melanosomes) are preserved in fossils, but recognizing traces of ancient melanin-based coloration is fraught with interpretative ambiguity, especially when observations are based on morphological evidence alone. Assigning microbodies (or, more often reported, their ‘mouldic impressions’) as melanosome traces without adequately excluding a bacterial origin is also problematic because microbes are pervasive and intimately involved in organismal degradation. Additionally, some forms synthesize melanin. In this review, we survey both vertebrate and microbial melanization, and explore the conflicts influencing assessment of microbodies preserved in association with ancient animal soft tissues. We discuss the types of data used to interpret fossil melanosomes and evaluate whether these are sufficient for definitive diagnosis. Finally, we outline an integrated morphological and geochemical approach for detecting endogenous pigment remains and associated microstructures in multimillion-year-old fossils.

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Ancient biomolecules: Their origins, fossilization, and role in revealing the history of life

2014

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The discovery of traces of a blood meal in the abdomen of a 50-million-year-old mosquito reminds us of the insights that the chemistry of fossils can provide. Ancient DNA is the best known fossil molecule. It is less well known that new fossil targets and a growing database of ancient gene sequences are paralleled by discoveries on other classes of organic molecules. New analytical tools, such as the synchrotron, reveal traces of the original composition of arthropod cuticles that are more than 400 my old. Pigments such as melanin are readily fossilized, surviving virtually unaltered for ∼200 my. Other biomarkers provide evidence of microbial processes in ancient sediments, and have been used to reveal the presence of demosponges, for example, more than 635 mya, long before their spicules appear in the fossil record. Ancient biomolecules are a powerful complement to fossil remains in revealing the history of life.

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Impact of diagenesis and maturation on the survival of eumelanin in the fossil record

Cited by 45 publications

References 46 publications

Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils

Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils

Interpreting melanin-based coloration through deep time: a critical review

Ancient biomolecules: Their origins, fossilization, and role in revealing the history of life

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