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Slow rates of degradation of osteocalcin: Green light for fossil bone protein?

2000; Geological Society of America; Volume: 28; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28 2.0.co;2

1943-2682

Matthew J. Collins, Angela M. Gernaey, Christina M. Nielsen-Marsh, Cees Vermeer, Peter Westbroek,

Porphyrin Metabolism and Disorders

Research Article| December 01, 2000 Slow rates of degradation of osteocalcin: Green light for fossil bone protein? M.J. Collins; M.J. Collins 1Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Postgraduate Institute, Newcastle Research Group, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A.M. Gernaey; A.M. Gernaey 1Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Postgraduate Institute, Newcastle Research Group, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C.M. Nielsen-Marsh; C.M. Nielsen-Marsh 1Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Postgraduate Institute, Newcastle Research Group, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C. Vermeer; C. Vermeer 2Department of Biochemistry, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht, Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P. Westbroek P. Westbroek 3Department of Chemistry, State University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information M.J. Collins 1Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Postgraduate Institute, Newcastle Research Group, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK A.M. Gernaey 1Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Postgraduate Institute, Newcastle Research Group, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK C.M. Nielsen-Marsh 1Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry, Postgraduate Institute, Newcastle Research Group, Drummond Building, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK C. Vermeer 2Department of Biochemistry, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht, Netherlands P. Westbroek 3Department of Chemistry, State University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 30 Mar 2000 Revision Received: 14 Sep 2000 Accepted: 20 Sep 2000 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2000) 28 (12): 1139–1142. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28 2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 30 Mar 2000 Revision Received: 14 Sep 2000 Accepted: 20 Sep 2000 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation M.J. Collins, A.M. Gernaey, C.M. Nielsen-Marsh, C. Vermeer, P. Westbroek; Slow rates of degradation of osteocalcin: Green light for fossil bone protein?. Geology 2000;; 28 (12): 1139–1142. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28 2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Our claim, published in this journal, for successful immunodetection of the protein osteocalcin in dinosaur bone has been challenged on the grounds that the findings are inconsistent with the kinetics of decomposition. Here we show that the close association of osteocalcin to the bone mineral vastly enhances its preservation potential relative to the same protein in aqueous solution. We conducted heating experiments (75–95 °C) of modern bone powder and monitored the survival of three different regions of osteocalcin (N-terminal, His4-Hyp9; C-terminal, Phe45-Val49; and the mid-region, Pro15-Glu31) with monoclonal antibodies. Extrapolation of our data to 10 °C ambient burial temperatures indicates that preservation of the γ-carboxylated mid-region in fossil bone cannot be excluded on kinetic grounds. Clearly, in situ sequence analysis will be the only method by which the preservation of fossil macromolecules will be unequivocally established. Nevertheless, our findings demonstrate the importance of mineral association to protein survival, as was borne out by an investigation of Holocene (ca. 6 ka) bones. Only in those samples with little recrystallization was the γ-carboxylated mid-region well preserved. These results imply that the future success of ancient biomolecule research largely depends on our understanding the interaction between these materials and their environment throughout diagenesis. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.