Synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis reveals diagenetic alteration of fossil melanosome trace metal chemistry

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dc.contributor.authorRogers, Christopher S.
dc.contributor.authorWebb, Samuel M.
dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Maria E.
dc.contributor.funderEuropean Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderHorizon 2020en
dc.contributor.funderU.S. Department of Energyen
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-10T10:56:13Z
dc.date.available2021-09-10T10:56:13Z
dc.date.issued2021-10-20
dc.date.updated2021-09-07T10:57:36Z
dc.description.abstractA key feature of the pigment melanin is its high binding affinity for trace metal ions. In modern vertebrates trace metals associated with melanosomes, melanin-rich organelles, can show tissue-specific and taxon-specific distribution patterns. Such signals preserve in fossil melanosomes, informing on the anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of fossil vertebrates. Fossil and modern melanosomes, however, often differ in trace metal chemistry; in particular, melanosomes from fossil vertebrate eyes are depleted in Zn and enriched in Cu relative to their extant counterparts. Whether these chemical differences are biological or taphonomic in origin is unknown, limiting our ability to use melanosome trace metal chemistry to test palaeobiological hypotheses. Here, we use maturation experiments on eye melanosomes from extant vertebrates and synchrotron rapid scan-x-ray fluorescence analysis to show that thermal maturation can dramatically alter melanosome trace element chemistry. In particular, maturation of melanosomes in Cu-rich solutions results in significant depletion of Zn, probably due to low pH and competition effects with Cu. These results confirm fossil melanosome chemistry is susceptible to alteration due to variations in local chemical conditions during diagenesis. Maturation experiments can provide essential data on melanosome chemical taphonomy required for accurate interpretations of preserved chemical signatures in fossils.en
dc.description.sponsorshipUS Department of Energy (Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract no. DE-AC02-76SF00515 via beamtime proposals 4615 and 5072)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationRogers, C. S., Webb, S. M. and McNamara, M. E. (2021) 'Synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis reveals diagenetic alteration of fossil melanosome trace metal chemistry', Palaeontology, 64(1), pp. 63-73. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1649en
dc.identifier.doi10.1098/rspb.2019.1649en
dc.identifier.endpage73en
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452
dc.identifier.issued1en
dc.identifier.journaltitlePalaeontologyen
dc.identifier.startpage63en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/11870
dc.identifier.volume64en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherWileyen
dc.relation.projectinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020::ERC::ERC-STG/637691/EU/Animal coloration through deep time: evolutionary novelty, homology and taphonomy/ANICOLEVOen
dc.relation.urihttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pala.12506
dc.rights© 2020 The Palaeontological Association. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Rogers, C.S., Webb, S.M. and McNamara, M.E. (2021), Synchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis reveals diagenetic alteration of fossil melanosome trace metal chemistry. Palaeontology, 64: 63-73, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12506 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.en
dc.subjectFossilen
dc.subjectSoft tissueen
dc.subjectTaphonomyen
dc.subjectSynchrotron-X-ray fluorescenceen
dc.titleSynchrotron x-ray fluorescence analysis reveals diagenetic alteration of fossil melanosome trace metal chemistryen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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