Paleoimmunology

9973073 Schweitzer古免疫学这项研究试图解决这样一个问题：“足以被抗体识别的蛋白质化合物是否存在于不同年龄的化石中？”“我建议从两个方向来解决这个问题：1）测试针对现代蛋白质的抗体对各种化石标本提取物的反应性，2）使用化石标本提取物作为免疫原，以确定它们是否能够在动物中引发免疫反应。 如果它们是反应性的，那么这些“抗化石”抗体将被测试与现代蛋白质的交叉反应性，以识别化石提取物中的源蛋白质。这些研究将辅以化石标本的其他分析测试，以便可以使用多条证据来支持这些分子来自化石（即内源性）而不是来自最近的外部污染的假设。 最后，如果内源性生物分子确实存在于化石组织中，将对沉积环境和沉积物进行分析，以确定沉积环境与保存之间的相关性。

9973073 SchweitzerPALEOIMMUNOLOGYThis study seeks to address the question "can proteinaceous compounds sufficient to be recognized by antibodies persist in fossils of various ages?" I propose to approach this question from two directions: 1) to test the reactivity of antibodies raised against modern proteins for reactivity against extracts of various fossil specimens, and 2) to use extracts of fossil specimens as immunogens to determine if they are capable of eliciting an immune response in animals. If they are reactive, then these "anti-fossil" antibodies will be tested for cross-reactivity to modern proteins to identify the source proteins in the fossil extracts. These studies will be supplemented with other analytical tests of the fossil specimens, so that more than one line of evidence can be used to support the hypothesis that these molecules arise from the fossils (ie, are endogenous) and not from recent, outside contamination. Finally, if it appears that endogenous biomolecules do persist within fossil tissues, the depositional setting and sediments will be analyzed to seek to identify a correlation between depositional environments and preservation.