SGER: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Diagenetic Transformation of Plant Macromolecules

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9705733 Fogel/Tuross Understanding the Earth's history in terms of climate, environment, and biodiversity, relies on the chemical and isotopic analyses of the ancient biota. The changes that occur in chemical structures and isotopic signatures of organic macromolecules as they pass from the biological realm to the geological environment will affect the way in which we are able to deconvolute these signals for paleo-interpretations. The work defined in this proposal bridges the gap between geochemical and ecological studies and the field of molecular paleontology. In this project, we will measure the disappearance of the CO2 fixing enzyme, Rubisco, and the gene encoding the Rubisco protein, while searching for spectroscopic evidence of alterations in residual plant material. Techniques for studying transformed biological material will be developed to determine whether a larger, broader project is feasible.