Application of Immunology to Carbonate Sedimentology and Paleontology

免疫学在碳酸盐沉积学和古生物学中的应用

• 批准号: 8721021
• 负责人: Philip Sandberg
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1988
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1988-06-01 至 1991-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8721021&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Application; Immunology; Carbonate; Sedimentology; Paleontology

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.

该研究将研究骨基质蛋白骨钙素（以下简称OC）在骨骼化石中的保存情况，以及该蛋白在化石脊椎动物免疫分类学中的可能用途。 这项研究将构成这一更新时期的主要重点。 我们发现OC保存在至少18-3000万年前的牛和啮齿动物骨骼化石中。 这种现象在免疫学和生物化学上都得到了证实。 此外，我们还从马骨化石（Miohippus，渐新世（2800 万年前），南达科他州）中提取了大分子，并引发了与针对现代马 OC 的抗体的反应。 在这些古老材料中发现保存的抗原决定簇和潜在保存的蛋白质，为分子古生物学研究已灭绝生物主要类群之间的系统发育关系提供了可能性，这是用应用于现代生物的常用分子生物学方法（线粒体DNA限制性酶位点定位等）不可能实现的。这项新研究对于理解化石之间的关系可能具有重要意义。 脊椎动物，包括已灭绝的群体。 这项研究的独特之处在于它直接研究从化石中提取的大分子，而不是根据现代分类单元的数据重建系统发育关系。