Schweitzer Mary H, Lindgren Johan, Moyer Alison E
Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA.
Bioessays. 2015 Nov;37(11):1174-83. doi: 10.1002/bies.201500061. Epub 2015 Oct 5.
Round to elongate microbodies associated with fossil vertebrate soft tissues were interpreted as microbial traces until 2008, when they were re-described as remnant melanosomes - intracellular, pigment-containing eukaryotic organelles. Since then, multiple claims for melanosome preservation and inferences of organismal color, behavior, and physiology have been advanced, based upon the shape and size of these microstructures. Here, we re-examine evidence for ancient melanosomes in light of information reviewed in Vinther (2015), and literature regarding the preservation potential of microorganisms and their exopolymeric secretions. We: (i) address statements in Vinther's recent (2015) review that are incorrect or which misrepresent published data; (ii) discuss the need for caution in interpreting "voids" and microbodies associated with degraded fossil soft tissues; (iii) present evidence that microorganisms are in many cases an equally parsimonious source for these "voids" as are remnant melanosomes; and (iv) suggest methods/criteria for differentiating melanosomes from microbial traces in the fossil record.
直到2008年，与化石脊椎动物软组织相关的圆形拉长微体一直被解释为微生物痕迹，当时它们被重新描述为残余黑素体——细胞内含有色素的真核细胞器。从那时起，基于这些微观结构的形状和大小，人们对黑素体的保存以及生物的颜色、行为和生理特征进行了多项推断。在此，我们根据温瑟（2015年）综述的信息以及关于微生物及其胞外聚合物分泌物保存潜力的文献，重新审视古代黑素体的证据。我们：（i）纠正温瑟最近（2015年）综述中不正确或歪曲已发表数据的陈述；（ii）讨论在解释与降解的化石软组织相关的“空隙”和微体时需要谨慎；（iii）提出证据表明，在许多情况下，微生物与残余黑素体一样，是这些“空隙”的同样简约的来源；（iv）建议在化石记录中区分黑素体与微生物痕迹的方法/标准。
