Taphonomic experiments reveal authentic molecular signals for fossil melanins and verify preservation of phaeomelanin in fossils.

Autor: Slater TS; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. tiffany.slater@ucc.ie.; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. tiffany.slater@ucc.ie., Ito S; Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan., Wakamatsu K; Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan., Zhang F; Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, China., Sjövall P; RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Materials and Production, 501 15, Borås, Sweden., Jarenmark M; Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62, Lund, Sweden., Lindgren J; Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62, Lund, Sweden., McNamara ME; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. maria.mcnamara@ucc.ie.; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. maria.mcnamara@ucc.ie.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature communications [Nat Commun] 2023 Oct 06; Vol. 14 (1), pp. 5651. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Oct 06.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40570-w
Abstrakt: Melanin pigments play a critical role in physiological processes and shaping animal behaviour. Fossil melanin is a unique resource for understanding the functional evolution of melanin but the impact of fossilisation on molecular signatures for eumelanin and, especially, phaeomelanin is not fully understood. Here we present a model for the chemical taphonomy of fossil eumelanin and phaeomelanin based on thermal maturation experiments using feathers from extant birds. Our results reveal which molecular signatures are authentic signals for thermally matured eumelanin and phaeomelanin, which signatures are artefacts derived from the maturation of non-melanin molecules, and how these chemical data are impacted by sample preparation. Our model correctly predicts the molecular composition of eumelanins in diverse vertebrate fossils from the Miocene and Cretaceous and, critically, identifies direct molecular evidence for phaeomelanin in these fossils. This taphonomic framework adds to the geochemical toolbox that underpins reconstructions of melanin evolution and of melanin-based coloration in fossil vertebrates.
(© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: