SGER: Identity and Phylogenetic Significance of Biomarkers in Paleozoic Crinoids

古生代海百合生物标志物的身份和系统发育意义。俄亥俄州州立大学地球科学学院Ausich和Yu-Ping Chin这个项目将扩大我们对从密西西比海百合中提取的分类特异性生物标志物的初步研究。迄今为止，我们已经确定：1.分类群特异性有机分子可以从单个化石标本中提取; 2.这些分子在同一种的不同标本中是一致的，不同于其他分类群，并且明显不同于来自周围沉积物的分子; 3.提取的化石分子显示出系统发育意义，与更近的分类群具有更多的相似分子;和4，提取的分子最有可能是取代的蒽醌，类似于已知由活海百合产生的分子类别。这些结果来自于对两个地区有限数量的化石标本的分析。这个项目的目的是建立我们的早期工作的可行性，在更大的规模，并建立这些提取的分子中保存的系统发育信息的意义。具体目标包括：1、确定古生代海百合中保存的分子的结构和身份; 2、由于取样是破坏性的，确定分析所需的最少量的材料; 3、确定这些生物标志物中系统发育信号的分辨率。系统发育意义将通过以下抽样设计进行测试：1，分析密西西比期其他事件的海百合，以确定同时代环境中生物标志物的一致性和存在; 2，检查奥陶纪至侏罗纪的海百合，以评估系统发育意义; 3，尽可能从活的海百合中提取分子。这项SGER工作将为俄亥俄州州立大学化学仪器中心的实验室用品和化学分析提供研究生支持和资金。分析将包括UV-Vis光谱法、ESI中的Micromass LC-TOF质谱仪、分离模式中的Finnegan Trace GC质谱仪和3-D激发-发射模式中的卡里Eclipse荧光分光光度计，这将包括围绕PARAFAC框架开发我们自己的模型，该框架是针对拟议研究的。拟议研究的结果有希望建立一个全新的研究领域，并改变古生物学家研究棘皮动物的化石，如果不是一般的化石的话。然而，真正的意义无法确定，直到一个更广泛的假设是测试与更多的分析，如本文所提出的。

Identity and Phylogenetic Significance of Biomarkers in Paleozoic CrinoidsPIs: William I. Ausich and Yu-Ping ChinSchool of Earth SciencesThe Ohio State UniversityThis project will expand our initial studies on taxon-specific biomarkers that we have extracted from Mississippian crinoids. To date, we have established that: 1, taxon-specific organic molecules can be extracted from individual fossil specimens; 2, these molecules are consistent for different specimens of the same species, different from other taxa, and distinctly different from molecules from enclosing sediments; 3, extracted fossil molecules display a phylogenetic significance with more closely related taxa having more similar molecules; and 4, extracted molecules are most probably a substituted anthraquinone, similar to classes of molecules known to be produced by living crinoids. These results are from analysis of a limited number of fossil specimens from two localities. This project is designed to establish the feasibility of our earlier work on a larger scale and to establish the significance of the phylogenetic information preserved in these extracted molecules. Specific objectives include: 1, determine the structure and identity of the preserved molecules in Paleozoic crinoids; 2, because sampling is destructive, determine the least amount of material needed for analysis; 3, determine the resolution of the phylogenetic signal in these biomarkers. The phylogenetic significance will be tested with the following sampling design: 1, analyze crinoids from other Mississippian occurrences to determine consistency and existence of biomarkers in coeval settings; 2, examine crinoids from the Ordovician to the Jurassic to assess the phylogenetic significance through time; and 3, as possible, molecules will be extracted from living crinoids. This SGER work will provide graduate student support and funding for laboratory supplies and chemical analyses from the Ohio State University Chemical Instrumentation Center. Analyses will include UV-Vis light spectroscopy, Micromass LC-TOF mass spectrometer in ESI, Finnegan Trace GC mass spectrometer in split mode, and Cary Eclipse spectrofluorimeter in 3-D Excitation-Emission mode, which will include development of our own model around the PARAFAC framework that is specific for the proposed research.Results of the proposed research have the promise to establish an entirely new research field and to transform the way paleontologists study fossil echinoderms, if not fossils in general. However, the true significance cannot be determined until a wider array of hypotheses is tested with many more analyses, as proposed herein.