Evolution of Temperature Controls on Alkenone Biosynthesis

9909857Eschell该项目的重点是分子进化的地质记录。 它的工作假设是，烯酮首先在白垩纪由钙质浮游生物生物合成，但在始新世，烯酮不饱和度的温度控制合成是对冷却趋势的反应。 为了回答这一假设，该项目将调查烯酮在大西洋古近纪和白垩纪沉积物中的分布，以确定其生物合成的温度依赖性的发展时间。 来自多个地点的材料的可用性有利于探索特定烯酮适应的时间和地理范围，并提供了将其特征与其源生物、钙质微型浮游生物和重大气候事件的时间相关联的机会。

9909857BrassellThis project focuses on the geological record of molecular evolution. Its working hypothesis isthat alkenones were first biosynthesized by calcareous nannoplankton in the Cretaceous, but that temperature-controlled synthesis of alkenone unsaturation developed in the Eocene as a response to cooling trends. To answer this postulate the project will investigate the distributions of alkenones in suites of Paleogene and Cretaceous sediments from the Atlantic to determine the timing of the development of the temperature dependence in their biosynthesis by haptophyte algae. The availability of materials from multiple sites facilitates exploration of the timing and geographic extent of specific alkenone adaptations, and provides the opportunity to correlate their characteristics with their source organisms, calcareous nannoplankton, and the timing of significant climatic events.