Investigation of Organic Tissue from Ordovician Deposits

中奥陶世牙形刺 在一个生物地层学项目中， 在它们的基腔中和下面。 这个4.5亿年前的 来自澳大利亚东部的物质似乎是已知最古老的 化石组织 牙形刺的地平线上也有这些 其他几个群体的遗体，组织保存完好。 这些 组包括三叶虫，腹足类，无节和有节 腕足动物、珊瑚、海绵、苔藓虫和鱼类。 一些初步的- 在已经收集的材料上还没有开始进行显微镜检查。 与分子生物学研究所成员的讨论， 俄勒冈州的大学提供了 凝胶电泳蛋白质分析所必需的，残留的 蛋白质免疫分析，蛋白质序列测定， 氨基酸分析，透射电子超微结构研究， 和其他技术来获取最多的生化信息 从保存下来的组织中。 第一年，工作将 a）旨在确定富含组织的化石层的范围 B）试图找出造成这种情况的原因， 特殊保存，c）建立生化条件 的有机残留物，和d）探索的适用性， 各种已知的分析遗骸的方法。 期间 第二年，这些信息将适用于尽可能多的群体， 获得最大的生物化学和分类学知识 关于存款中存在的生物，其中许多属于 到现在已经灭绝的主要群体。

Conodonts of middle Ordovician age collected by he PI as part of a biostratigraphic project were found to have tissue preserved in and below their basal cavities. This 450 million year-old material from eastern Australia appears to be the oldest known fossil tissue. The horizon with the conodonts also contains these remains of several other groups with tissue preserved. These groups include trilobites, gastropods, inarticulate and articulate brachiopods, corals, sponges, bryozoans, and fish. Some prelimi- nary microscopy has been begun on the material already collected. Discussions with members of the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Oregon have led to offers of facilities necessary for gel electrophoresis protein analysis, residual protein immunological analysis, protein sequence determination, amino acid analysis, transmission electron ultrastructure studies, and other techniques to obtain the most biochemical information from the preserved tissues. During the first year, the work will a) aim to determine the extent of the tissue-rich fossil horizon in the field, b) attempt to discover the reasons for the exceptional preservation, c) establish the biochemical condition of the organic remains, and d) explore the suitability of the various known methods for analyzing the remains. During the second year this information will be applied to as many groups as possible to gain the maximum biochemical and taxonomic knowledge about the organisms present in the deposit, many of which belong to major groups that are now extinct.