![]() ![]() These buried microbes may have evolved unique ways to thrive inside fossils. Sequencing the genetic material revealed that the fossil had become a habitat for an unusual community of microbes that is not found in the surrounding sediment or above ground. Most of these appeared to have a very recent source. However, the fossils contained more organic carbon, DNA, and certain amino acids than the sediment surrounding them. found no evidence of ancient dinosaur proteins. The bones were carefully excavated in a manner to reduce contamination, and the sediment the bones had been embedded in was also tested for comparison. performed a range of analyses on the fossilized bones of a horned dinosaur called Centrosaurus. To investigate the source of the biological material in fossil bone, Saitta et al. One hypothesis is that they are in fact biofilms formed by bacteria. While some researchers believe these could be the remains of ancient proteins, blood vessels, and cells, traditionally thought to be among the least stable components of bone, others think that they have more recent sources. However, traces of biological material have been found inside some fossils. During the fossilization process, biological tissues degrade over millions of years, with some types of molecules breaking down faster than others. The chances of establishing a real-world Jurassic Park are slim. There exists potential post-burial taphonomic roles for subsurface microorganisms. Subsurface dinosaur bone is a relatively fertile habitat, attracting microbes that likely utilize inorganic nutrients and complicate identification of original organic material. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed that dinosaur bone hosted an abundant microbial community different from lesser abundant communities of surrounding sediment. Fossil ‘soft tissues’ differed from collagen chemically and structurally while degradation would be expected, the patterns observed did not support this. Organic preservation versus contamination of dinosaur bone was examined by freshly excavating, with aseptic protocols, fossils and sedimentary matrix, and chemically/biologically analyzing them. These ‘soft tissues’ have been reinterpreted as biofilms. However, proteins and labile lipids are diagenetically unstable, and bone is a porous open system, allowing microbial/molecular flux. Dinosaur bone has been proposed to preserve collagen, osteocytes, and blood vessels. ![]() Fossils were thought to lack original organic molecules, but chemical analyses show that some can survive.
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