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Organic Preservation of Biopolymers in Fossil Leaves

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Biopolymers

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 38))

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Abstract

This chapter investigates the morphology and chemical structure of fossil leaves from the Ardèche diatomite (Late Miocene, southeast France) and compares them to their modern equivalents. Chemical analyses of the fossil leaves revealed the presence of a recalcitrant (non-hydrolysable) geopolymer comprised of benzene derivatives, lignin-derived components, pristenes and an aliphatic component; the latter consists partly of fatty acyl subunits ranging in carbon number from C8 to C32 with an abundance of C16 and C18 units. Chemical degradation of the modern plants failed to reveal the presence of the aliphatic biomacromolecule cutan, thereby precluding selective preservation of this compound as the source for the aliphatic component of the fossil leaves. In contrast, C16 and C18 fatty acyl units are predominant in the cutin and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) fractions of the modern leaves, while C10 to C32 acid units are characteristic of the free fatty acid (FA) fraction of epicuticular waxes. However, TEM and SEM investigations of the fossils revealed no evidence for cuticle preservation, and while a contribution from cutin cannot be excluded, the aliphatic component of the fossil polymer is possibly derived instead from the in situ polymerisation of labile cell membrane lipids and free fatty acids.

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  1. Department of Science and Technology Laboratory for Terrestrial Environments, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI, USA

    Neal S. Gupta

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Gupta, N.S. (2014). Organic Preservation of Biopolymers in Fossil Leaves. In: Biopolymers. Topics in Geobiology, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7936-5_3

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