Nature Communications (Jan 2022)
Intracellular bound chlorophyll residues identify 1 Gyr-old fossils as eukaryotic algae
- Marie Catherine Sforna,
- Corentin C. Loron,
- Catherine F. Demoulin,
- Camille François,
- Yohan Cornet,
- Yannick J. Lara,
- Daniel Grolimund,
- Dario Ferreira Sanchez,
- Kadda Medjoubi,
- Andrea Somogyi,
- Ahmed Addad,
- Alexandre Fadel,
- Philippe Compère,
- Daniel Baudet,
- Jochen J. Brocks,
- Emmanuelle J. Javaux
Affiliations
- Marie Catherine Sforna
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- Corentin C. Loron
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- Catherine F. Demoulin
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- Camille François
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- Yohan Cornet
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- Yannick J. Lara
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- Daniel Grolimund
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Swiss Light Source
- Dario Ferreira Sanchez
- Paul Scherrer Institut, Swiss Light Source
- Kadda Medjoubi
- Synchrotron Soleil
- Andrea Somogyi
- Synchrotron Soleil
- Ahmed Addad
- Unité Matériaux et Transformations (UMR CNRS 8207), Université Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies
- Alexandre Fadel
- Unité Matériaux et Transformations (UMR CNRS 8207), Université Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies
- Philippe Compère
- Functional and Evolutive Morphology, Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, UR FOCUS, and Center for Applied Research and Education in Microscopy (CAREM-ULiege), University of Liège
- Daniel Baudet
- Geodynamics & Mineral Resources Service, Royal Museum for Central Africa
- Jochen J. Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University
- Emmanuelle J. Javaux
- Early Life Traces & Evolution-Astrobiology, UR Astrobiology, University of Liège
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27810-7
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 8
Abstract
The authors report nickel-porphyrins derivatives of chlorophyll in ~1 Gyr-old multicellular eukaryotes, preserved in low-grade metamorphic rocks. This brand new approach permits to identify early phototrophic organisms through the geological record.
