Phosphate biomineralization in mid-Neoproterozoic protists

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 2011 Phosphate biomineralization in mid-Neoproterozoic protists Phoebe A. Cohen; Phoebe A. Cohen * 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA *Current address: NASA Astrobiology Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA; E-mail: pcohen@mit.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J. William Schopf; J. William Schopf 2Department of Earth and Space Sciences, and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA4Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life), University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astrobiology Institute, Pennsylvania State University Astrobiology Research Center, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Nicholas J. Butterfield; Nicholas J. Butterfield 3Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev; Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev 4Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life), University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astrobiology Institute, Pennsylvania State University Astrobiology Research Center, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Francis A. Macdonald Francis A. Macdonald 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2011) 39 (6): 539–542. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31833.1 Article history received: 18 Oct 2010 rev-recd: 21 Jan 2011 accepted: 26 Jan 2011 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 Phoebe A. Cohen, J. William Schopf, Nicholas J. Butterfield, Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev, Francis A. Macdonald; Phosphate biomineralization in mid-Neoproterozoic protists. Geology 2011;; 39 (6): 539–542. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G31833.1 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 origin and expansion of biomineralization in eukaryotes played a critical role in Earth history, linking biological and geochemical processes. However, the onset of this phenomenon is poorly constrained due to a limited early fossil record of biomineralization. Although macroscopic evidence for biomineralization is not known until the late Ediacaran, we here report biologically controlled phosphatic biomineralization of scale microfossils from mid-Neoproterozoic (pre-Sturtian) strata of northwest Canada. Primary biological control on mineralization is supported by the identification of apatite in both chert-hosted and limestone-hosted specimens, the conspicuously rigid original morphology of the scale microfossils relative to co-occurring organic-walled cyanobacteria and acritarchs, and the microstructure of the constituent phosphate. Cell-enveloping mineralized scales occur in a wide range of extant protists, but the apparent restriction of phosphate scales to one modern taxon of green algae suggests a possible affiliation for these fossils. Documentation of primary phosphate biomineralization in Fifteenmile Group (Yukon Territory, Canada) microfossils greatly extends the known record of biologically controlled mineralization and provides a unique window into the diversity of early eukaryotes. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.