A Reassessment of the Coprostane Biomarker in the Ediacaran With Implications for Dickinsonia

IF 3.4 2区 地球科学 Q2 BIOLOGY
Geobiology Pub Date : 2025-08-19 DOI:10.1111/gbi.70029
Christopher Mulligan, David A. Gold
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Abstract

The discovery of cholestane in animal fossils from the Ediacaran (571–541 million years ago) has generated much excitement, but it is not the only interesting biomarker recovered. Coprostane, a geologically stable form of coprostanol, has also been found in Ediacaran rocks. This is surprising, since coprostanol is typically used in modern settings as an environmental biomarker for humans and other mammals, who produce the compound with help from bacteria in their gut. The prevailing hypothesis is that an abundance of coprostane in some Ediacaran fossils—particularly Dickinsonia—represents the degradation of the organism's cholesterol by bacteria in the microbial mat, comparable to what is seen in modern vertebrate corpses as they decompose. However, this hypothesis assumes coprostanol-producing bacteria were absent in the guts of Ediacaran organisms, and to date no one has tested whether such bacteria exist in modern invertebrates. In this study, we assembled 115 metagenomes to look for evidence of coprostanol-producing enzymes in invertebrate microbiomes. Ultimately, we did not find any evidence for the enzyme in any invertebrate microbiomes, supporting the hypothesis that coprostane is not a gut biomarker for Ediacaran animals. However, a reassessment of coprostane/cholestane ratios shows Dickinsonia was unique in coprostanol enrichment, with ratio levels comparable to waste polluted marine waters and modern vertebrate feces. While we cannot rule out the possibility of contamination, we prefer a novel interpretation of the coprostane signature in dickinsoniomorph fossils, where the elevated level of coprostanol comes from digestion of the microbial mat and concentration of the biologically inert compound. If correct, the elevated coprostanol signal provides new insights into the feeding strategy of these enigmatic animals.

Abstract Image

埃迪卡拉纪Coprostane生物标志物的重新评估及其对狄更逊水母的影响
在埃迪卡拉纪(5.71 - 5.41亿年前)的动物化石中发现胆甾醇引起了很多兴奋,但它并不是唯一发现的有趣的生物标志物。在埃迪卡拉纪的岩石中也发现了一种地质上稳定的钴炔醇。这是令人惊讶的,因为在现代环境中,coprostanol通常被用作人类和其他哺乳动物的环境生物标志物,它们在肠道细菌的帮助下产生这种化合物。流行的假设是,在一些埃迪卡拉化石中——尤其是狄更逊化石中——大量的钴蛋白酶代表了微生物席中细菌对生物体胆固醇的降解,这与现代脊椎动物尸体分解时所看到的情况相当。然而,这一假设假定在埃迪卡拉动物的肠道中不存在产coprostanol的细菌,到目前为止,还没有人测试过这种细菌是否存在于现代无脊椎动物中。在这项研究中,我们收集了115个宏基因组来寻找无脊椎动物微生物组中产coprostanol酶的证据。最终,我们没有在任何无脊椎动物微生物组中发现任何酶的证据,支持了coprostane不是埃迪卡拉动物肠道生物标志物的假设。然而,对coprostane/cholestane比值的重新评估表明,Dickinsonia在coprostanol富集方面是独一无二的,其比值水平可与污染的废物海水和现代脊椎动物粪便相媲美。虽然我们不能排除污染的可能性,但我们更倾向于对dickinson形态化石中coprostane特征的新解释,其中coprostanol水平的升高来自微生物基质的消化和生物惰性化合物的浓度。如果正确的话,升高的coprostanol信号为这些神秘动物的进食策略提供了新的见解。
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来源期刊
Geobiology
Geobiology 生物-地球科学综合
CiteScore
6.80
自引率
5.40%
发文量
56
审稿时长
3 months
期刊介绍: The field of geobiology explores the relationship between life and the Earth''s physical and chemical environment. Geobiology, launched in 2003, aims to provide a natural home for geobiological research, allowing the cross-fertilization of critical ideas, and promoting cooperation and advancement in this emerging field. We also aim to provide you with a forum for the rapid publication of your results in an international journal of high standing. We are particularly interested in papers crossing disciplines and containing both geological and biological elements, emphasizing the co-evolutionary interactions between life and its physical environment over geological time. Geobiology invites submission of high-quality articles in the following areas: Origins and evolution of life Co-evolution of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere The sedimentary rock record and geobiology of critical intervals Paleobiology and evolutionary ecology Biogeochemistry and global elemental cycles Microbe-mineral interactions Biomarkers Molecular ecology and phylogenetics.
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