Application of Immunology to Carbonate Sedimentology and Paleontology

这项研究将研究骨基质蛋白骨钙素(以下简称OC)在化石骨中的保存情况，以及将该蛋白用于化石脊椎动物免疫分类学的可能性。这项研究将构成这一更新期的主要重点。我们发现，OC保存在至少1800万-3000万年前的牛和啮齿类动物的化石中。这种情况在免疫学和生化学上都得到了证实。此外，我们还从马骨化石(Miohipus，渐新世(2800万年前，南达科他州))中提取了大分子，并与现代马OC产生的抗体发生了反应。在这些古老的材料中发现保存完好的抗原决定簇和可能保存的蛋白质，为分子古生物学研究灭绝生物主要群体之间的系统发育关系打开了可能性，这是应用于现代生物的常见分子生物学方法(线粒体DNA限制性内切酶定位等)所不可能做到的。这项新研究可能对理解脊椎动物化石之间的关系具有重要意义，包括灭绝的脊椎动物群体。这项研究的独特之处在于，它直接研究了从化石中提取的大分子，而不是根据现代分类群的数据重建系统发育关系。

The research will examine the preservation of the bone matrix protein osteocalcin (referred to below as OC) in fossil bone and the possible use of that protein for immunotaxonomy of fossil vertebrates. This research will constitute the major emphasis of this renewal period. We have found that OC is preserved in fossil bovine and rodent bone at least 18-30 million years old. This occurrence was confirmed both immunologically and biochemically. In addition, we have extracted macromolecules from fossil horse bone (Miohippus, Oligocene (28 million years old), South Dakota) and have elicited reaction with antibodies raised against modern horse OC. The discovery of preserved antigenic determinants and potentially preserved proteins in such ancient materials opens the possibility for molecular paleontology studies of phylogenetic relationships among major groups of extinct organisms, something which is not possible with the usual molecular biological methods applied to modern organisms (mitochondrial DNA restriction enzyme site mapping, etc.) This new research could be of major significance in understanding relationships among fossil vertebrates, including extinct groups. This research is unique in its direct study of macromolecules extracted from fossils, rather than reconstructing phylogenetic relationships from data on modern taxa.