Works (24)

Updated: July 12th, 2023 07:30

2022 journal article

An ancestral hard-shelled sea turtle with a mosaic of soft skin and scutes

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 12(1).

By: R. Garza*, H. Madsen, P. Sjoevall, F. Osbaeck*, W. Zheng n, M. Jarenmark*, M. Schweitzer n, A. Engdahl* ...

MeSH headings : Animals; Turtles; Skin; Reptiles; Biological Evolution; Epidermis
TL;DR: These findings show that the adaptive transition to neritic waters by the ancestral pan-chelonioids was more complex than hitherto appreciated, and included at least one evolutionary lineage with a mosaic of integumental features not seen in any living turtle. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water (OpenAlex)
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: March 20, 2023

2022 journal article

Environmental Factors Affecting Feather Taphonomy

BIOLOGY-BASEL, 11(5).

By: M. Schweitzer n, W. Zheng n & N. Equall*

author keywords: feather; taphonomy; degradation; keratin; microbes; CO2; apatite; melanin
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: June 13, 2022

2022 journal article

Soft Tissue and Biomolecular Preservation in Vertebrate Fossils from Glauconitic, Shallow Marine Sediments of the Hornerstown Formation, Edelman Fossil Park, New Jersey

BIOLOGY-BASEL, 11(8).

By: K. Voegele*, Z. Boles*, P. Ullmann*, E. Schroeter n, W. Zheng n & K. Lacovara*

author keywords: soft tissues; molecular preservation; collagen; Hornerstown Formation; shallow marine; glauconite
TL;DR: P paleomolecular analyses of shallow marine vertebrate fossils from the Cretaceous–Paleogene Hornerstown Formation, an 80–90% glauconitic greensand from Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park in Mantua Township, NJ, corroborate previous findings that original soft tissue and proteins can be recovered from fossils preserved in marine environments and expand the range of ancient environments documented to preserve original organics and soft tissues. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water (OpenAlex)
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: September 6, 2022

2022 journal article

Soft-Tissue, Rare Earth Element, and Molecular Analyses of Dreadnoughtus schrani, an Exceptionally Complete Titanosaur from Argentina

BIOLOGY-BASEL, 11(8).

By: E. Schroeter n, P. Ullmann*, K. Macauley*, R. Ash*, W. Zheng n, M. Schweitzer n, K. Lacovara*

author keywords: fossil proteins; molecular paleontology; diagenesis; taphonomy; rare earth elements; soft-tissue preservation; geochemistry
TL;DR: The data show that original bone microstructures and protein are preserved in Dreadnoughtus, and that after burial, the specimen was exposed to weakly-oxidizing conditions and groundwaters rich in “light” REEs but experienced little further chemical alteration after this early stage of fossilization, supporting the idea that fossils showing lower concentrations of REEs are well suited for molecular analyses. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water (OpenAlex)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: September 6, 2022

2020 journal article

Evidence of proteins, chromosomes and chemical markers of DNA in exceptionally preserved dinosaur cartilage

NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW, 7(4), 815–822.

author keywords: cartilage; dinosaur; nuclei; chromosomes; collagen II; DNA markers
TL;DR: The data support the hypothesis that calcified cartilage is preserved at the molecular level in this Mesozoic material, and suggest that remnants of once-living chondrocytes, including their DNA, may preserve for millions of years. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: June 15, 2020

2020 journal article

Molecular tests support the viability of rare earth elements as proxies for fossil biomolecule preservation

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 10(1).

MeSH headings : Animals; Bone and Bones / chemistry; Dinosaurs; Fossils; Metals, Rare Earth / chemistry; Metals, Rare Earth / isolation & purification; Trace Elements / chemistry; Trace Elements / isolation & purification
TL;DR: The results thereby support the utility of REE profiles as proxies for soft tissue and biomolecular preservation in fossil bones and draw predictions as to the biomolescular recovery potential of additional REE profile types exhibited by fossil bones. (via Semantic Scholar)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: October 19, 2020

2019 journal article

Mechanisms of soft tissue and protein preservation in Tyrannosaurus rex

Scientific Reports, 9, 15678.

By: E. Boatman*, M. Goodwin*, H. Holman*, S. Fakra*, W. Zheng n, R. Gronsky*, M. Schweitzer*

MeSH headings : Animals; Bone and Bones / chemistry; Bone and Bones / metabolism; Collagen Type I / chemistry; Collagen Type I / metabolism; Dinosaurs / metabolism; Fossils; Humans; Preservation, Biological; Proteins / chemistry; Proteins / metabolism
TL;DR: It is proposed that non-enzymatic crosslinking pathways likely contributed to stabilizing, and thus preserving, these T. rex vessels, and could play a crucial role in the preservation of other microvascular tissues in skeletal elements from the Mesozoic. (via Semantic Scholar)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: November 18, 2019

2019 journal article

Paleoproteomics of Mesozoic Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Fossils

PROTEOMICS, 19(16), 1800251.

By: M. Schweitzer n, E. Schroeter n, T. Cleland* & W. Zheng n

author keywords: dinosaurs; fossil; mesozoic; protein; soft tissues
MeSH headings : Animals; Biological Evolution; Bone and Bones / anatomy & histology; Bone and Bones / metabolism; Dinosaurs / anatomy & histology; Dinosaurs / classification; Dinosaurs / metabolism; Fossils; Mass Spectrometry / methods; Paleontology / methods; Proteins / analysis; Proteomics / methods
TL;DR: The power and potential of a molecular approach to Mesozoic fossils is discussed, and some criteria for assessing the presence of endogenous biomolecules in very ancient fossil remains are suggested as a starting framework for such studies. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries, Crossref
Added: July 22, 2019

2019 journal article

The molecular evolution of feathers with direct evidence from fossils

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(8), 3018–3023.

By: Y. Pan*, W. Zheng n, R. Sawyer*, M. Pennington, X. Zheng*, X. Wang*, M. Wang*, L. Hu* ...

author keywords: feather evolution; keratin expression; fossil-feather ultrastructure; dinosaur-bird transition; biomechanical properties
MeSH headings : Animals; Birds; Dinosaurs; Evolution, Molecular; Feathers / chemistry; Feathers / ultrastructure; Fossils; Keratins / chemistry; Skin / chemistry; Skin / ultrastructure; beta-Keratins / chemistry
TL;DR: It is confirmed here that feathers were modified at both molecular and morphological levels to obtain the biomechanical properties for flight during the dinosaur–bird transition, and it is shown that the patterns and timing of adaptive change at the molecular level can be directly addressed in exceptionally preserved fossils in deep time. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries, Crossref
Added: March 4, 2019

2018 journal article

Preservation potential of keratin in deep time

PLOS ONE, 13(11), e0206569.

Ed(s): Y. Mishra

MeSH headings : Animals; Antibodies; Feathers / chemistry; Feathers / immunology; Feathers / ultrastructure; Fossils / ultrastructure; Hot Springs; Hot Temperature; Keratins / chemistry; Keratins / immunology; Tetrahydroisoquinolines; Time Factors
TL;DR: The data support the hypothesis that keratin, particularly the β-keratin that comprises feathers, has potential to preserve in fossil remains and stress the importance of employing realistic conditions such as sediment burial when designing experiments intended as proxies for taphonomic processes occurring in the fossil record. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries, Crossref
Added: December 17, 2018

2018 article

Resonance Raman Imagery of Semi-Fossilized Soft Tissues

ULTRAFAST NONLINEAR IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY VI, Vol. 10753.

By: B. Long n, W. Zheng n, M. Schweitzer n & H. Hallen n

author keywords: Resonance Raman; hemoglobin; fossils; soft tissue
TL;DR: Variable wavelength resonance Raman measurements over the whole sample were used to give more information about the heme species present, in both ancient and modern samples. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: December 17, 2018

2018 journal article

Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur

Nature, 564(7736), 359–365.

By: J. Lindgren*, P. Sjövall*, V. Thiel*, W. Zheng n, S. Ito*, K. Wakamatsu*, R. Hauff, B. Kear* ...

MeSH headings : Adaptation, Physiological; Adipose Tissue / anatomy & histology; Adipose Tissue / chemistry; Animals; Biological Evolution; Body Temperature Regulation; Dermis / anatomy & histology; Dermis / chemistry; Dinosaurs / anatomy & histology; Dinosaurs / physiology; Dolphins; Epidermis / anatomy & histology; Epidermis / chemistry; Female; Fossils; Homeostasis; Keratinocytes / chemistry; Lipids / analysis; Male; Melanins / analysis; Melanophores / chemistry; Porpoises; Proteins / analysis
TL;DR: The presence of blubber and distribution of melanophores in a countershading pattern in an Early Jurassic ichthyosaur demonstrate that the evolutionary convergence of these reptiles with extant marine amniotes extends to the cellular and molecular levels. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water (OpenAlex)
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries, Crossref
Added: January 7, 2019

2017 journal article

Biochemistry and adaptive colouration of an exceptionally preserved juvenile fossil sea turtle

Scientific Reports, 7.

By: J. Lindgren, T. Kuriyama, H. Madsen, P. Sjovall, W. Zheng, P. Uvdal, A. Engdahl, A. Moyer ...

Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2017 journal article

Expansion for the Brachylophosaurus canadensis Collagen I Sequence and Additional Evidence of the Preservation of Cretaceous Protein

JOURNAL OF PROTEOME RESEARCH, 16(2), 920–932.

author keywords: paleoproteomics; collagen I; bone; Brachylophosaurus canadensis; phylogenetics; Archosauria
MeSH headings : Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Biological Evolution; Bone and Bones / chemistry; Collagen Type I / chemistry; Dinosaurs / classification; Extinction, Biological; Fossils; Paleontology / instrumentation; Paleontology / methods; Peptide Fragments / analysis; Phylogeny; Proteomics / instrumentation; Proteomics / methods
TL;DR: The data robustly support the hypothesis of an endogenous origin for these peptides, confirm the idea that peptides can survive in specimens tens of millions of years old, and bolster the validity of the 2009 study. (via Semantic Scholar)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2016 journal article

Chemistry supports the identification of gender-specific reproductive tissue in Tyrannosaurus rex

Scientific Reports, 6.

By: M. Schweitzer, W. Zheng, L. Zanno, S. Werning & T. Sugiyama

Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2016 journal article

Keratin durability has implications for the fossil record: Results from a 10 year feather degradation experiment

PLoS One, 11(7).

By: A. Moyer, W. Zheng & M. Schweitzer

Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2016 journal article

Microscopic and immunohistochemical analyses of the claw of the nesting dinosaur, Citipati osmolskae

By: A. Moyer, W. Zheng & M. Schweitzer

Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2016 journal article

Molecular evidence of keratin and melanosomes in feathers of the Early Cretaceous bird Eoconfuciusornis

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 113(49), E7900–E7907.

author keywords: keratinous protein; immunogold; ChemiSTEM; melanosome; Early Cretaceous
MeSH headings : Animals; Biological Evolution; Birds / anatomy & histology; Feathers / ultrastructure; Fossils / ultrastructure; Keratins; Melanosomes
TL;DR: This work represents the oldest ultrastructural and immunological recognition of avian beta-keratin from an Early Cretaceous (∼130-Ma) bird and sheds new light on molecular preservation within normally labile tissues preserved in fossils. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2016 journal article

Testing the hypothesis of biofilm as a source for soft tissue and cell-like structures preserved in dinosaur bone

PLoS One, 11(2).

By: M. Schweitzer, A. Moyer & W. Zheng

Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2015 journal article

Mass Spectrometry and Antibody-Based Characterization of Blood Vessels from Brachylophosaurus canadensis

JOURNAL OF PROTEOME RESEARCH, 14(12), 5252–5262.

By: T. Cleland n, E. Schroeter n, L. Zamdborg*, W. Zheng n, J. Lee*, J. Tran*, M. Bern*, M. Duncan* ...

author keywords: Brachylophosaurus canadensis; blood vessels; dinosaur; cytoskeleton; actin; tubulin; myosin; tropomyosin; tap honomy; preservation
MeSH headings : Actins / genetics; Actins / isolation & purification; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Blood Vessels / anatomy & histology; Blood Vessels / metabolism; Blood Vessels / microbiology; Bone and Bones / blood supply; Chickens; Dinosaurs / anatomy & histology; Dinosaurs / genetics; Dinosaurs / metabolism; Fluorescent Antibody Technique / methods; Fossils / anatomy & histology; Mass Spectrometry; Models, Biological; Molecular Sequence Data; Myosins / genetics; Myosins / isolation & purification; Phylogeny; Proteomics / methods; Sequence Alignment; Species Specificity; Struthioniformes; Tropomyosin / genetics; Tropomyosin / isolation & purification; Tubulin / genetics; Tubulin / isolation & purification
TL;DR: Test the hypothesis that dinosaur cortical bone fragments recovered after demineralization are endogenous and thus retain proteins in common with extant archosaur blood vessels that can be detected with high-resolution mass spectrometry and confirmed by immunofluorescence and two lines of evidence support this hypothesis. (via Semantic Scholar)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2014 journal article

Melanosomes or Microbes: Testing an Alternative Hypothesis for the Origin of Microbodies in Fossil Feathers

Scientific Reports, 4.

By: A. Moyer, W. Zheng, E. Johnson, M. Lamanna, D. Li, K. Lacovara, M. Schweitzer

Source: NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2013 journal article

Molecular analyses of dinosaur osteocytes support the presence of endogenous molecules

BONE, 52(1), 414–423.

By: M. Schweitzer n, W. Zheng n, T. Cleland n & M. Bern*

author keywords: Osteocytes; Fossil; Dinosaur; T. rex; Ancient proteins; Ancient DNA
MeSH headings : Animals; Dinosaurs; Mass Spectrometry; Osteocytes / chemistry
TL;DR: These data are the first to support preservation of multiple proteins and to present multiple lines of evidence for material consistent with DNA in dinosaurs, supporting the hypothesis that these structures were part of the once living animals. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

2011 journal article

Characterization of Organics Consistent with beta-Chitin Preserved in the Late Eocene Cuttlefish Mississaepia mississippiensis

PLOS ONE, 6(11).

By: P. Weaver*, L. Doguzhaeva*, D. Lawver*, R. Tacker*, C. Ciampaglio*, J. Crate, W. Zheng n

MeSH headings : Animals; Chitin / analysis; Decapodiformes / chemistry; Decapodiformes / ultrastructure; Extinction, Biological; Fossils; History, Ancient; Immunohistochemistry; Minerals / analysis; Mississippi; Organic Chemicals / analysis; Preservation, Biological / history; Sepia / ultrastructure; Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
TL;DR: This study presents the first evidence for organics consistent with chitin from an ancient marine mollusk and discusses how these organics have been degraded over time. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action (Web of Science)
14. Life Below Water (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018

2009 journal article

Biomolecular characterization and protein sequences of the Campanian hadrosaur Brachylophosaurus canadensis

Science, 324(5927), 626–631.

By: M. Schweitzer n, W. Zheng n, C. Organ*, R. Avci*, Z. Suo*, L. Freimark*, V. Lebleu*, M. Duncan* ...

MeSH headings : Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Birds / classification; Bone Demineralization Technique; Bone Matrix / chemistry; Collagen / analysis; Collagen / chemistry; Collagen / isolation & purification; Dinosaurs / classification; Elastin / analysis; Femur / blood supply; Femur / chemistry; Femur / ultrastructure; Fossils; Hemoglobins / analysis; Immunologic Techniques; Laminin / analysis; Mass Spectrometry; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Molecular Sequence Data; Osteocytes / ultrastructure; Peptide Fragments / chemistry; Peptide Fragments / isolation & purification; Phylogeny; Proteins / analysis; Proteins / chemistry; Proteins / isolation & purification; Sequence Alignment
TL;DR: Microstructural and immunological data are consistent with preservation of multiple bone matrix and vessel proteins, and phylogenetic analyses of Brachylophosaurus collagen sequenced by mass spectrometry robustly support the bird-dinosaur clade, consistent with an endogenous source for these collagen peptides. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Sources: Web Of Science, NC State University Libraries
Added: August 6, 2018

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