Description
Molecular paleontology is the study of organic matter remnants in the fossilized bones of extinct animals. The development of new sensitive research techniques based on synchrotron radiation allows the identification of remains of organic matter (e.g. proteins) in paleontological material. Research conducted at the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre is carried out on two research lines: PolyX and CIRI. In the first one, X-ray absorption spectroscopy is applied to examine iron oxide-mineralized, biological microstructures reminiscent of fossilized red blood cells, which were obtained from the Cretaceous (about 80 million years old) carnivorous dinosaur bone samples. Here, an attempt to evaluate the properties of iron was made, to determine its origin from the genuine iron-containing hemoproteins from dinosaur blood.
In another project, using the CIRI beamline research infrastructure, the "soft tissue" samples extracted from the bones of Triassic dinosaurs (about 80 million years old) were examined. The morphological features of these soft structures suggest that they are perfectly preserved, still flexible fragments of original blood vessels and extracellular matrix. The research hypothesis tested in this study is that genuine bone proteins (especially collagen) will be characterized by specific bio-signatures and fingerprint signals (e.g., amide bands), so it can confirm the proteinaceous origin of the examined soft structures and even provide clues to their endogenous source.
Although the collected data are of excellent quality, their clear interpretation is still problematic, so further studies on larger numbers of samples are advisable. The samples examined so far, are very valuable for an author as well as for the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre scientists, from a methodological point of view, and will be used to check and improve beamlines performance.
