FOR 2685: The Limits of the Fossil Record: Analytical and Experimental Approaches to Fossilization

化石记录是38亿年前地球上生命起源历史的主要证据，但越来越清楚的是，我们对化石物质性质的理解仍然不完整。由于石化过程以一种复杂的方式塑造了化石记录，如果我们要了解生命的历史，我们需要了解石化过程对化石记录的限制。过去十年通过发展先进的分析方法为这类研究开辟了前所未有的机会。然而，这样的研究需要在进化的框架内进行，以便了解进化的优势和途径，这些优势和途径进入了化石生物中特定生物特征的选择。适用于化石的先进成像方法包括放射学方法（micro-CT，同步辐射CT）以及三维表面捕获和成像（如摄影测量，数字显微镜）。新的微观分析方法在化石研究中的应用也同样有前景，如微拉曼光谱和红外光谱、x射线吸收光谱（XAS）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）、原子探针断层扫描（APT）、二次离子质谱（SIMS）、离子微探针、激光烧蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱（LA-ICPMS）、纳米二次离子质谱（NanoSIMS）以及飞行时间质谱（TOF-MS）。拟设立的研究单位将致力于将最新的成像和分析技术应用于植物、软体节肢动物和脊椎动物的化石记录，以阐明化石的物质性质和石化过程。这些包括骨石化过程，植物和节肢动物的硅化，骨骼中有机残留物的保存，以及植物、节肢动物和脊椎动物遗骸中有机残留物的检测。为了达到这些目标，精心设计和可重复的化石实验的结果，包括微生物专业知识，将与对自然化石材料的详细调查联系起来。在此基础上，我们的目标是建立跨学科和生物群体的适当研究方案，并最终发展一种有益于进化研究和地球科学的化石综合观点。该研究单位将以Steinmann地质、矿物学和古生物学研究所、制药研究所、kekul<s:1>有机化学研究所和波恩大学医学微生物研究所的PIs为中心，形成一个全国独特的专家集群，但美因茨大学的研究人员也将参与其中。各个项目通过分析专业知识和在不同项目之间共享的新分析技术的开发联系在一起。

The fossil record is the primary evidence for the history of life on Earth from its beginnings 3.8 billion years ago, but it is has become increasingly clear that our understanding of the material nature of fossils remains incomplete. Since the processes of fossilization shape the fossil record in a complex manner, we need to understand the limits imposed on the fossil record by fossilization processes if we are to understand the history of life. The last decade has opened up unprecedented opportunities for such research through the development of advanced analytical methods. However, such research needs to be conducted within an evolutionary framework in order to understand the evolutionary advantages and pathways that went into the selection of a particular biological trait in a fossil organism.Advanced imaging methods applicable to fossils include radiological methods (micro-CT, synchrotron radiation CT) as well as 3D surface capture and imaging (e.g., photogrammetry, digital microscopy). New micro-analytical methods are equally promising in their application to fossils such as micro-Raman and IR spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atom-probe tomography (APT), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), ion microprobe, laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS), nano-sized secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS), as well as time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The research unit proposed here will focus on applying the latest imaging and analytical technologies to the fossil record of plants, soft-bodied arthropods, and vertebrates with the objective of elucidating the material nature of fossils and the processes of fossilization. These include the process of bone fossilization, the silicification of plants and arthropods, the preservation of organic remains in bone, as well as the detection of organic remains in plants, arthropods, and vertebrate remains. In order to reach these aims, the results of carefully designed and reproducible fossilization experiments involving microbiological expertise will be linked to detailed investigations on naturally fossilized material. Based on this, we aim to establish proper research protocols across the disciplines and groups of organisms and ultimately to develop an integrative view of fossilization which will benefit evolutionary research as well as the geosciences.The research unit will center around PIs at the Steinmann Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology, the Pharmaceutical Institute, the Kekulé Institute of Organic Chemistry, and the Institute of Medical Microbiology at the University of Bonn to form a nationally unique cluster of expertise, but researchers from the University of Mainz will also participate. The individual projects are linked by analytical expertise and the development of new analytical techniques that are shared among different projects.