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Pheomelanin pigment remnants mapped in fossils of an extinct mammal

Pheomelanin pigment remnants mapped in fossils of an extinct mammal
Pheomelanin pigment remnants mapped in fossils of an extinct mammal

Recent progress has been made in paleontology with respect to resolving pigmentation in fossil material. Morphological identification of fossilized melanosomes has been one approach, while a second methodology using chemical imaging and spectroscopy has also provided critical information particularly concerning eumelanin (black pigment) residue. In this work we develop the chemical imaging methodology to show that organosulfur-Zn complexes are indicators of pheomelanin (red pigment) in extant and fossil soft tissue and that the mapping of these residual biochemical compounds can be used to restore melanin pigment distribution in a 3 million year old extinct mammal species (Apodemus atavus). Synchotron Rapid Scanning X-ray Fluorescence imaging showed that the distributions of Zn and organic S are correlated within this fossil fur just as in pheomelanin-rich modern integument. Furthermore, Zn coordination chemistry within this fossil fur is closely comparable to that determined from pheomelanin-rich fur and hair standards. The non-destructive methods presented here provide a protocol for detecting residual pheomelanin in precious specimens.

2041-1723
Manning, Phillip L.
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Edwards, Nicholas P.
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Bergmann, Uwe
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Anné, Jennifer
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Sellers, William I.
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van Veelen, Arjen
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Sokaras, Dimosthenis
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Egerton, Victoria M.
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Alonso-Mori, Roberto
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Ignatyev, Konstantin
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van Dongen, Bart E.
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Wakamatsu, Kazumasa
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Ito, Shosuke
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Knoll, Fabien
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Wogelius, Roy A.
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Manning, Phillip L.
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Edwards, Nicholas P.
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Bergmann, Uwe
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Anné, Jennifer
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Sellers, William I.
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van Veelen, Arjen
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Sokaras, Dimosthenis
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Egerton, Victoria M.
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Alonso-Mori, Roberto
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Ignatyev, Konstantin
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van Dongen, Bart E.
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Wakamatsu, Kazumasa
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Ito, Shosuke
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Knoll, Fabien
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Wogelius, Roy A.
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Manning, Phillip L., Edwards, Nicholas P., Bergmann, Uwe, Anné, Jennifer, Sellers, William I., van Veelen, Arjen, Sokaras, Dimosthenis, Egerton, Victoria M., Alonso-Mori, Roberto, Ignatyev, Konstantin, van Dongen, Bart E., Wakamatsu, Kazumasa, Ito, Shosuke, Knoll, Fabien and Wogelius, Roy A. (2019) Pheomelanin pigment remnants mapped in fossils of an extinct mammal. Nature Communications, 10 (1), [2250]. (doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10087-2).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Recent progress has been made in paleontology with respect to resolving pigmentation in fossil material. Morphological identification of fossilized melanosomes has been one approach, while a second methodology using chemical imaging and spectroscopy has also provided critical information particularly concerning eumelanin (black pigment) residue. In this work we develop the chemical imaging methodology to show that organosulfur-Zn complexes are indicators of pheomelanin (red pigment) in extant and fossil soft tissue and that the mapping of these residual biochemical compounds can be used to restore melanin pigment distribution in a 3 million year old extinct mammal species (Apodemus atavus). Synchotron Rapid Scanning X-ray Fluorescence imaging showed that the distributions of Zn and organic S are correlated within this fossil fur just as in pheomelanin-rich modern integument. Furthermore, Zn coordination chemistry within this fossil fur is closely comparable to that determined from pheomelanin-rich fur and hair standards. The non-destructive methods presented here provide a protocol for detecting residual pheomelanin in precious specimens.

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Accepted/In Press date: 9 April 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 21 May 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 431367
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431367
ISSN: 2041-1723
PURE UUID: dfcf5176-b706-41cd-ab23-e2d6f625de41

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Date deposited: 30 May 2019 16:30
Last modified: 05 Jun 2024 19:09

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Contributors

Author: Phillip L. Manning
Author: Nicholas P. Edwards
Author: Uwe Bergmann
Author: Jennifer Anné
Author: William I. Sellers
Author: Arjen van Veelen
Author: Dimosthenis Sokaras
Author: Victoria M. Egerton
Author: Roberto Alonso-Mori
Author: Konstantin Ignatyev
Author: Bart E. van Dongen
Author: Kazumasa Wakamatsu
Author: Shosuke Ito
Author: Fabien Knoll
Author: Roy A. Wogelius

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