Direct chemical evidence for eumelanin pigment from the Jurassic period
Name
Summons-2012-Direct Chemical Evidence for Eumelanin Pigment.pdf
Size
1.13 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Glass, Keely
Ito, Shosuke
Wilby, Philip R.
Sota, Takayuki
Nakamura, Atsushi
Bowers, C. Russell
Vinther, Jakob
Dutta, Suryendu
Briggs, Derek E. G.
Wakamatsu, Kazumasa
Date Issued
June 2012
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Citation
Glass, K. et al. “Direct Chemical Evidence for Eumelanin Pigment from the Jurassic Period.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109.26 (2012): 10218–10223.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Melanin is a ubiquitous biological pigment found in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. It has a diverse range of ecological and biochemical functions, including display, evasion, photoprotection, detoxification, and metal scavenging. To date, evidence of melanin in fossil organisms has relied entirely on indirect morphological and chemical analyses. Here, we apply direct chemical techniques to categorically demonstrate the preservation of eumelanin in two > 160 Ma Jurassic cephalopod ink sacs and to confirm its chemical similarity to the ink of the modern cephalopod, Sepia officinalis. Identification and characterization of degradation-resistant melanin may provide insights into its diverse roles in ancient organisms.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118448109
