Abstract:
Because ancient proteins have a higher preservation potential than ancient DNA,
proteomic studies can help shed light on the biology of some extinct biological groups that are
beyond the reach of the field of ancient DNA. The oldest peptide discovered so far is part of the
protein struthiocalcin (SCA-1) involved in eggshell mineralization and found within an ostrich
egg from the Late Miocene Linxia Basin of Northwest China. It was originally hypothesized
that SCA-1 was evenly distributed within the eggshell and was able to enter the fossil record for
so long, because it was bound to calcite crystals. We conducted histological, scanning electron
microscopy and Raman spectroscopic analyses on this same fossil egg to test if any protein or
organic matter could be observed within specific regions of the eggshell and indeed bound to
calcite crystals. Our results show that the eggshell is made entirely of calcite except at the base
layer, which is made of mammillary knobs at least partially made of apatite. These knobs were
secondarily phosphatized during diagenesis. After decalcification of this material, the fossilized
mammillary knobs showed fibrous residues consistent in location and morphology with remnants
of original organic material forming a network. This network was similar to the organic matrix
observed in an extant ostrich eggshell with this same method. The results here suggest that SCA-1
may have been concentrated at the mammillary knobs, rather than evenly throughout the eggshell.
Phosphatization may be another taphonomic process that favors organic preservation in deeptime.
The paleoclimate and taphonomic environment of the Linxia Basin may have provided
favorable conditions for the molecular preservation of this egg. More in-depth histochemical and
mineralogical analyses will certainly increase our understanding of organic and ancient protein
preservation in this basin.