Molecular signature of chitin-protein complex in Paleozoic arthropods

Research Article| March 01, 2011 Molecular signature of chitin-protein complex in Paleozoic arthropods George D. Cody; George D. Cody * 1Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, USA *E-mail: g.cody@gl.ciw.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Neal S. Gupta; Neal S. Gupta 1Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, USA4Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Derek E.G. Briggs; Derek E.G. Briggs 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A.L.D. Kilcoyne; A.L.D. Kilcoyne 3Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Roger E. Summons; Roger E. Summons 4Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Fabien Kenig; Fabien Kenig 5University of Illinois at Chicago, Earth and Environmental Sciences, 845 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Roy E. Plotnick; Roy E. Plotnick 5University of Illinois at Chicago, Earth and Environmental Sciences, 845 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Andrew C. Scott Andrew C. Scott 6Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX Surrey, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information George D. Cody * 1Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, USA Neal S. Gupta 1Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, USA4Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Derek E.G. Briggs 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA A.L.D. Kilcoyne 3Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA Roger E. Summons 4Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Fabien Kenig 5University of Illinois at Chicago, Earth and Environmental Sciences, 845 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA Roy E. Plotnick 5University of Illinois at Chicago, Earth and Environmental Sciences, 845 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA Andrew C. Scott 6Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX Surrey, UK *E-mail: g.cody@gl.ciw.edu. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 06 Aug 2010 Revision Received: 08 Oct 2010 Accepted: 10 Oct 2010 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2011 Geological Society of America Geology (2011) 39 (3): 255–258. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31648.1 Article history Received: 06 Aug 2010 Revision Received: 08 Oct 2010 Accepted: 10 Oct 2010 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation George D. Cody, Neal S. Gupta, Derek E.G. Briggs, A.L.D. Kilcoyne, Roger E. Summons, Fabien Kenig, Roy E. Plotnick, Andrew C. Scott; Molecular signature of chitin-protein complex in Paleozoic arthropods. Geology 2011;; 39 (3): 255–258. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G31648.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The conventional geochemical view holds that the chitin and structural protein are not preserved in ancient fossils because they are readily degradable through microbial chitinolysis and proteolysis. Here we show a molecular signature of a relict chitin-protein complex preserved in a Pennsylvanian (310 Ma) scorpion cuticle and a Silurian (417 Ma) eurypterid cuticle via analysis with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectromicroscopy. High-resolution X-ray microscopy reveals the complex laminar variation in major biomolecule concentration across modern cuticle; XANES spectra highlight the presence of the characteristic functional groups of the chitin-protein complex. Modification of this complex is evident via changes in organic functional groups. Both fossil cuticles contain considerable aliphatic carbon relative to modern cuticle. However, the concentration of vestigial chitin-protein complex is high, 59% and 53% in the fossil scorpion and eurypterid, respectively. Preservation of a high-nitrogen-content chitin-protein residue in organic arthropod cuticle likely depends on condensation of cuticle-derived fatty acids onto a structurally modified chitin-protein molecular scaffold, thus preserving the remnant chitin-protein complex and cuticle from degradation by microorganisms. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.