Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125

Many recent reports have demonstrated remarkable preservation of proteins in fossil bones dating back to the Permian. However, preservation mechanisms that foster the long-term stability of biomolecules and the taphonomic circumstances facilitating them remain largely unexplored. To address this, we...

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Autores principales:	Paul V. Ullmann, Kyle Macauley, Richard D. Ash, Ben Shoup, John B. Scannella
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	REE <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> molecular paleontology geochemical taphonomy diagenesis bone Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/9c0732e5b7684c2fa98fff00845a27d9
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:9c0732e5b7684c2fa98fff00845a27d92021-11-25T16:47:52ZTaphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 112510.3390/biology101111932079-7737https://doaj.org/article/9c0732e5b7684c2fa98fff00845a27d92021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/11/1193https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737Many recent reports have demonstrated remarkable preservation of proteins in fossil bones dating back to the Permian. However, preservation mechanisms that foster the long-term stability of biomolecules and the taphonomic circumstances facilitating them remain largely unexplored. To address this, we examined the taphonomic and geochemical history of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> specimen Museum of the Rockies (MOR) 1125, whose right femur and tibiae were previously shown to retain still-soft tissues and endogenous proteins. By combining taphonomic insights with trace element compositional data, we reconstruct the postmortem history of this famous specimen. Our data show that following prolonged, subaqueous decay in an estuarine channel, MOR 1125 was buried in a coarse sandstone wherein its bones fossilized while interacting with oxic and potentially brackish early-diagenetic groundwaters. Once its bones became stable fossils, they experienced minimal further chemical alteration. Comparisons with other recent studies reveal that oxidizing early-diagenetic microenvironments and diagenetic circumstances which restrict exposure to percolating pore fluids elevate biomolecular preservation potential by promoting molecular condensation reactions and hindering chemical alteration, respectively. Avoiding protracted interactions with late-diagenetic pore fluids is also likely crucial. Similar studies must be conducted on fossil bones preserved under diverse paleoenvironmental and diagenetic contexts to fully elucidate molecular preservation pathways.Paul V. UllmannKyle MacauleyRichard D. AshBen ShoupJohn B. ScannellaMDPI AGarticleREE<i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i>molecular paleontologygeochemical taphonomydiagenesisboneBiology (General)QH301-705.5ENBiology, Vol 10, Iss 1193, p 1193 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	REE <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> molecular paleontology geochemical taphonomy diagenesis bone Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	REE <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> molecular paleontology geochemical taphonomy diagenesis bone Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Paul V. Ullmann Kyle Macauley Richard D. Ash Ben Shoup John B. Scannella Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125
description	Many recent reports have demonstrated remarkable preservation of proteins in fossil bones dating back to the Permian. However, preservation mechanisms that foster the long-term stability of biomolecules and the taphonomic circumstances facilitating them remain largely unexplored. To address this, we examined the taphonomic and geochemical history of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> specimen Museum of the Rockies (MOR) 1125, whose right femur and tibiae were previously shown to retain still-soft tissues and endogenous proteins. By combining taphonomic insights with trace element compositional data, we reconstruct the postmortem history of this famous specimen. Our data show that following prolonged, subaqueous decay in an estuarine channel, MOR 1125 was buried in a coarse sandstone wherein its bones fossilized while interacting with oxic and potentially brackish early-diagenetic groundwaters. Once its bones became stable fossils, they experienced minimal further chemical alteration. Comparisons with other recent studies reveal that oxidizing early-diagenetic microenvironments and diagenetic circumstances which restrict exposure to percolating pore fluids elevate biomolecular preservation potential by promoting molecular condensation reactions and hindering chemical alteration, respectively. Avoiding protracted interactions with late-diagenetic pore fluids is also likely crucial. Similar studies must be conducted on fossil bones preserved under diverse paleoenvironmental and diagenetic contexts to fully elucidate molecular preservation pathways.
format	article
author	Paul V. Ullmann Kyle Macauley Richard D. Ash Ben Shoup John B. Scannella
author_facet	Paul V. Ullmann Kyle Macauley Richard D. Ash Ben Shoup John B. Scannella
author_sort	Paul V. Ullmann
title	Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125
title_short	Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125
title_full	Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125
title_fullStr	Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125
title_full_unstemmed	Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125
title_sort	taphonomic and diagenetic pathways to protein preservation, part i: the case of <i>tyrannosaurus rex</i> specimen mor 1125
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/9c0732e5b7684c2fa98fff00845a27d9
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Taphonomic and Diagenetic Pathways to Protein Preservation, Part I: The Case of <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i> Specimen MOR 1125

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