Organic Matter Preservation and Incipient Mineralization of Microtubules in 120 Ma Basaltic Glass
| Autor: | Lachlan C. W. MacLean, Sergei Matveev, Callum J. Hetherington, Roberta L. Flemming, Gordon Southam, James J. Dynes, Matthew R.M. Izawa, Neil R. Banerjee |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Basalt
chemistry.chemical_classification Mineralization (geology) 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Oxide Geochemistry Ontong Java Plateau Trace fossil 010502 geochemistry & geophysics 01 natural sciences biomolecule Organic molecules synchrotron XANES chemistry.chemical_compound ichnofossils Glass dissolution chemistry General Earth and Planetary Sciences Organic matter lcsh:Q basaltic glass lcsh:Science Basaltic rock 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 7 (2019) |
| ISSN: | 2296-6463 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/feart.2019.00149/full |
| Popis: | Hollow tubular structures in subaqueously-emplaced basaltic glass may represent trace fossils caused by microbially-mediated glass dissolution. Mineralized structures of similar morphology and spatial distribution in ancient, metamorphosed basaltic rocks have widely been interpreted as ichnofossils, possibly dating to similar to 3.5 Ga or greater. Doubts have been raised, however, regarding the biogenicity of the original hollow tubules and granules in basaltic glass. In particular, although elevated levels of biologically-important elements such as C, S, N, and P as well as organic compounds have been detected in association with these structures, a direct detection of unambiguously biogenic organic molecules has not been accomplished. In this study, we describe the direct detection of proteins associated with tubular textures in basaltic glass using synchrotron X-ray spectromicroscopy. Protein-rich organic matter is shown to be associated with the margins of hollow and partly-mineralized tubules. Furthermore, a variety of tubule-infilling secondary minerals, including Ti-rich oxide phases, were observed filling and preserving the microtextures, demonstrating a mechanism whereby cellular materials may be preserved through geologic time. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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