1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime

Abstract Exceptional microfossil preservation, whereby sub-cellular details of an organism are conserved, remains extremely rare in the Precambrian rock record. We here report the first occurrence of exceptional cellular preservation by the rare earth element (REE) phosphates monazite and xenotime....

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	David Wacey, Eva Sirantoine, Martin Saunders, Paul Strother
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2019
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/39f0318f7af9402da050a810833f4cfe
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:39f0318f7af9402da050a810833f4cfe
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:39f0318f7af9402da050a810833f4cfe2021-12-02T15:09:40Z1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime10.1038/s41598-019-45575-42045-2322https://doaj.org/article/39f0318f7af9402da050a810833f4cfe2019-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45575-4https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Exceptional microfossil preservation, whereby sub-cellular details of an organism are conserved, remains extremely rare in the Precambrian rock record. We here report the first occurrence of exceptional cellular preservation by the rare earth element (REE) phosphates monazite and xenotime. This occurs in ~1 billion-year-old lake sediments where REEs were likely concentrated by local erosion and drainage into a closed lacustrine basin. Monazite and xenotime preferentially occur inside planktonic cells where they preserve spheroidal masses of plasmolyzed cell contents, and occasionally also membranous fragments. They have not been observed associated with cell walls or sheaths, which are instead preserved by clay minerals or francolite. REE phosphates are interpreted to be the earliest minerals precipitated in these cells after death, with their loci controlled by the micro-scale availability of inorganic phosphate (Pi) and REEs, probably sourced from polyphosphate granules within the cells. The strong affinity of REEs for phosphate and the insolubility of these minerals once formed means that REE phosphates have the potential for rapid preservation of cellular morphology after death and durability in the rock record. Hence, authigenic REE phosphates provide a promising new target in the search for the preservation of intra-cellular components of fossilised microorganisms.David WaceyEva SirantoineMartin SaundersPaul StrotherNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q David Wacey Eva Sirantoine Martin Saunders Paul Strother 1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
description	Abstract Exceptional microfossil preservation, whereby sub-cellular details of an organism are conserved, remains extremely rare in the Precambrian rock record. We here report the first occurrence of exceptional cellular preservation by the rare earth element (REE) phosphates monazite and xenotime. This occurs in ~1 billion-year-old lake sediments where REEs were likely concentrated by local erosion and drainage into a closed lacustrine basin. Monazite and xenotime preferentially occur inside planktonic cells where they preserve spheroidal masses of plasmolyzed cell contents, and occasionally also membranous fragments. They have not been observed associated with cell walls or sheaths, which are instead preserved by clay minerals or francolite. REE phosphates are interpreted to be the earliest minerals precipitated in these cells after death, with their loci controlled by the micro-scale availability of inorganic phosphate (Pi) and REEs, probably sourced from polyphosphate granules within the cells. The strong affinity of REEs for phosphate and the insolubility of these minerals once formed means that REE phosphates have the potential for rapid preservation of cellular morphology after death and durability in the rock record. Hence, authigenic REE phosphates provide a promising new target in the search for the preservation of intra-cellular components of fossilised microorganisms.
format	article
author	David Wacey Eva Sirantoine Martin Saunders Paul Strother
author_facet	David Wacey Eva Sirantoine Martin Saunders Paul Strother
author_sort	David Wacey
title	1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
title_short	1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
title_full	1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
title_fullStr	1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
title_full_unstemmed	1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
title_sort	1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/39f0318f7af9402da050a810833f4cfe
work_keys_str_mv	AT davidwacey 1billionyearoldcellcontentspreservedinmonaziteandxenotime AT evasirantoine 1billionyearoldcellcontentspreservedinmonaziteandxenotime AT martinsaunders 1billionyearoldcellcontentspreservedinmonaziteandxenotime AT paulstrother 1billionyearoldcellcontentspreservedinmonaziteandxenotime
_version_	1718387807552012288

1 billion-year-old cell contents preserved in monazite and xenotime

Ejemplares similares