陕南川北志留系特列奇阶宁强组礁相中的微生物岩和钙藻

分布于扬子区西北缘宁强-广元地区志留系宁强组以约三千米厚的浅水相泥页岩,海相红层夹灰岩为特征,部分灰岩层段中发育生物礁,通过对礁灰岩的微相分析表明,菌藻类可通过四种方式参与造礁过程;1）叠层石;2）凝块岩;3）核形石;4）钙藻碎屑堆积,其中以叠层石和凝块岩最为常见,它们对灰泥基质起显著的粘结作用。而核形石和钙藻相对较少,有的叠层石出现于礁顶相并作为后生动物骨架岩造礁衰减的标志。     

河南登封寒武系第三统张夏组核形石与遗迹化石的耦合变化

河南登封关口剖面寒武系第三统张夏组下部碳酸盐岩中发育了大量的微生物成因的核形石和后生动物遗迹化石。在野外和显微镜下对核形石和遗迹化石进行观察,并统计它们在地层中所占比例,表明核形石和遗迹化石存在着耦合关系。下部地层以发育凝块石和形状不规则、纹层不连续、代表一种低能弱搅动水体的Ⅰ型核形石为主,不含遗迹化石,表明此时微生物在海洋生态系统中占主导地位。中部地层则以发育浑圆形、纹层连续的Ⅱ型核形石和遗迹化石Planolites为特征;而且随水体能量的增强,Planolites丰度逐渐升高,核形石丰度逐渐降低;二者的丰度变化说明后生动物的存在对核形石的数量有一定影响,但未破坏核形石的生长条件。上部地层发育大量Thalassinoides和生物扰动构造,缺乏核形石;后生动物对沉积基底进行反复扰动,彻底破坏了原始层理以及微生物造岩的环境,核形石消失。可见,在张夏组沉积时期,微生物与后生动物以及环境之间存在着特殊的相互作用关系。     

新疆巴楚晚奥陶世礁丘中的蓝菌群落

新疆巴楚上奥陶统良里塔格组"中红灰岩"中见蓝菌一绿藻形成的礁丘,常见3类蓝菌类化石:Girvanella,Renalcid和Ortonella,其中Renalcid包括Renalcis和Izhella.蓝菌群落所形成的微生物岩构造包括钙化的微生物膜和微生物席、叠层石和凝块石,对礁灰岩的建造作用主要体现在作为灰泥物源、粘结颗粒和形成格架.     

豫西P–Tr之交的微生物成因构造与后生动物扰动构造的耦合变化及生态学意义*

豫西登封、济源、宜阳、荥阳和巩义等地发育一套连续的二叠纪–三叠纪之交的陆相地层孙家沟组、刘家沟组和和尚沟组,保存着有环境和生物信息的微生物成因构造以及后生动物扰动构造,对二者的深入研究对二叠纪–三叠纪之交的陆相微生物与环境以及早三叠世的生物复苏有着重要的意义。研究区5个剖面保存了丰富的微生物成因构造和后生动物扰动构造,其中微生物成因构造有3大类、25小类,后生动物扰动构造有6属13种。这些构造在地层自下而上有一定的变化规律:微生物成因构造自孙家沟组中上部出现到刘家沟组顶部消失;后生动物扰动构造自刘家沟组上部出现,到和尚沟组上部逐渐增多,至中三叠世油房庄组基本达到灾变事件前的生物水平;二者仅在刘家沟组共生。本研究表明研究区微生物成因构造和后生动物扰动构造在整体上具有负相关性与耦合变化关系。     

晋东北地区寒武系微生物岩及其与沉积环境的关系

位于华北地区中北部的晋东北地区,是我国华北型寒武系沉积的典型地区之一,微生物岩在地层中十分发育。根据微生物岩的宏观构造、内部结构、底栖微生物群落及其与沉积物之间的作用方式和特点,可将该区微生物岩分为五种类型：１．叠层石,２．核形石,３．树枝石,４．凝块石,５．隐生石。通过对各类微生物岩与沉积环境及底栖微生物群落关系的分析,认为：微生物岩的宏观特征受底栖微生物群落的种属及其与沉积物的作用方式所联合控制。根据本区的研究资料,微生物岩主要发育在潮间带下部和潮下带的古地理位置。     

黔北桐梓志留系石牛栏段近岸相灰岩

黔北石牛栏组上部的石牛栏段灰岩时代为志留纪兰多维列世埃隆晚期,是上扬子区浅海底栖壳相后生动物繁盛阶段的产物。桐梓代家沟剖面处于黔中古陆以北的近岸带,石牛栏段灰岩序列呈现海退过程,微相特征表明这里频繁出现各类近岸浅海带清澈环境中常见的生屑滩沉积。石牛栏段下部出现风暴浪基面附近腕足类Zygospiraella和Pentamerus密集的介壳滩,大多数的滩相灰岩以细颗粒生屑堆积为主,夹含薄层腹足类生屑滩和鲕粒滩,仅见少量珊瑚薄层,可以排除此地为后生动物礁的栖居区;石牛栏段上部见数期叠层石生长,形态呈穹窿状或平缓席状,每期厚度不超过1m,伴生的暗色泥质夹层中产出的腕足类Lingullela-Eospirifer群落指示澙湖相;潮间带特有的薄层灰岩交错层理以及石牛栏段顶部的喀斯特面进一步昭示区域性逐渐发生的桐梓上升事件结束了近岸沉积。     

叠锥石

叠锥石是藻类生物长期沉积作用形成的特殊构造体 ,为叠层石中之一种。其所具有的形态特征与真正的生物化石有区别 ,又和沉积岩的层纹状构造不同 ,为一特殊观赏石石种。该石的基本层相互叠合形成锥柱体 ,柱体的不同形态及石体的分叉情况是对叠层石的分类与鉴定的重要依据。该类石由于受成岩作用的破坏较大 ,完整的生物遗体难于保存。笔者获得的叠锥石 ,主要产于二叠纪峨眉山玄武岩顶部与侏罗纪相交的过度带的喷出岩碎屑层中。其底层叠层与柱体完好 ,层理形态清晰 ,集合体为黑黄色。该石具有美丽的造型 ,完好的生物遗迹 ,别具一格的锰铁与泥质…     

中国叠层石研究进展

叠层石学科是在迂回曲折的道路上发展起来的.经中国前寒武纪古生物学家的共同努力,我国叠层石研究取得多项成就,主要有:建立了华北元古宙叠层石组合序列;对某些新元古代叠层石的微生物组分和微生物席特征进行了初步揭示;从理论上对矿化叠层石的成因提出了解释;提出假裸枝叠层石科(Pseudogymnosolenaceae)可作为中元古代地层对比的重要标志;利用雾迷山组的叠层石标本开展了古生物钟研究的尝试以及探明新元古代一种特殊的叠层石微构造可能具等时性.     

叠层石衰减事件

“叠层石”这一术语是1908年Kalkowsky首先定义的,用来描述具有多少近似平面状、生物成因细纹层构造的灰岩体。叠层石这个词的使用和定义经历了逐渐的变化,现在大家一致认为叠层石是蓝细菌等微生物群体形成的一种层状的生物沉积构造,如下图所示。近代叠层石主要形成于清水环境、海边缘、潮间带的浅水环境。叠层石并不一定是碳酸盐岩,也可以是硅质岩、蒸发岩或磷酸盐。许多金属矿沉积都与叠层石有密切联系,尤其是叠层石礁。在叠层石形成过程中,微生物对于各种自生矿物的沉淀起到了重要作用,包括碳酸盐、磷酸盐、氧化物、硫化物和硒酸盐。微…     

Halwaxiids系统进化研究进展

Halwaxiids是一类体表覆有骨质鳞片的寒武纪后生动物,它包含了在早期后生动物进化中占据关键位置的两个化石动物类群Halkieriids和Wiwaxids.但自1995年以来包含Halkieria和Wiwaxia在内的Halwaxiids进化枝在不断被修正,而近年来,随着新化石和新证据的出现,围绕Halkieria...     

Did detoxification processes cause complex life to emerge?

Excess oxygen is toxic for many cells and cell function can be disrupted by calcium, even if present in small amounts. Cells avoid the toxic effects of these substances by excreting oxygen-rich or Ca-containing molecules. The origin of macroscopic multi-celled animals (metazoans) can be attributed to the excretion of oxygen-rich collagen molecules (or their precursors) at a time when the seas were for the first time both oxygenated and sufficiently loaded with phosphorus for the energy (ATP) requirements of sizable metazoans. With subsequent increase of Ca in the marine environment, hard parts of CaCO₃ were produced. Excretion of oxygen in combination with abundant phosphorus permitted phosphate biomineralization. In this view, the most informative biological development during the late Neoproterozoic was not the emergence of metazoans but the initial construction of viable tissues. When tissue integrity is lost, whether due to low oxygen, collagen failure, injury, chemical insult or other reasons, individual cells are released from tissue-constraints. To survive, they may then revert to unicellular life-styles that emphasize cellular proliferation and variation. When this occurs in metazoans, the result may be cancer.     

Integrin and cadherin clusters: A robust way to organize adhesions for cell mechanics

The evolutionary emergence of animals is one of the most significant episodes in the history of life, but its timing remains poorly constrained. Molecular clocks estimate that animals originated and began diversifying over 100 million years before the first definitive metazoan fossil evidence in the Cambrian. However, closer inspection reveals that clock estimates and the fossil record are less divergent than is often claimed. Modern clock analyses do not predict the presence of the crown‐representatives of most animal phyla in the Neoproterozoic. Furthermore, despite challenges provided by incomplete preservation, a paucity of phylogenetically informative characters, and uncertain expectations of the anatomy of early animals, a number of Neoproterozoic fossils can reasonably be interpreted as metazoans. A considerable discrepancy remains, but much of this can be explained by the limited preservation potential of early metazoans and the difficulties associated with their identification in the fossil record. Critical assessment of both records may permit better resolution of the tempo and mode of early animal evolution.     

The Ediacaran Aspidella‐type impressions in the Jinxian successions of Liaoning Province,northeastern China

Macroscopic impression fossils from the Xingmincun Formation of the Jinxian Group, Liaoning Province of northeastern China, are identified as members of the Aspidella plexus of Ediacaran age. This is the first recognition of the taxon in the Liaoning Province, although such fossils have been previously recorded in the succession, but were referred to as new species and relegated to an earlier Neoproterozoic age. A revision of the taxonomic interpretation and relative age estimation of the previous record is provided, as well as an evaluation of abiotic vs. biotic processes that could produce similar structures to studied impressions. The mode of preservation of the fossils is considered from a biochemical point of view and along with the properties of organic matter in the integument of soft‐bodied metazoans. The selective preservation of the Ediacaran organisms, including metazoans, as impressions (moulds and casts) against the organically preserved contemporaneous cyanobacterial and algal microfossils, and an exceptionally small number of terminal Ediacaran metazoan fossils (Sabellidites, Conotubus and Shaanxilithes), demonstrates the non‐resistant characteristics and the very different biochemical constitution of the Ediacaran metazoans compared with those that evolved in the Cambrian and after. The refractory biomacromolecules in cell walls of photosynthesizing microbiota (bacterans, cutans, algaenan and sporopollenin groups) and in the chitinous body walls of Sabellidites contrast sharply with the labile biopolymers in Ediacaran metazoans known only from impressions. The newly emerging biosynthesis of resistant biopolymers in metazoans (chitin and collagen groups) initiated by the annelids at the end of Ediacaran and fully evolved in Cambrian metazoans, considered with the ability to biomineralize, made their body preservation possible. The Chengjiang and Burgess Shale metazoans show evidence of this new biochemistry in body walls and cuticles, and not only because of the specific taphonomic window that enhanced their preservation.     

Precambrian animal life: Taphonomy of phosphatized metazoan embryos from southwest China

Phosphatized fossils from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation have provided valuable insight into the early evolution of metazoans, but the preservation of these spectacular fossils is not yet fully understood. This research begins to address this issue by performing a detailed specimen-based taphonomic analysis of the Doushantuo Formation phosphatized metazoan embryos. A total of 206 embryos in 65 thin sections from the Weng'an Phosphorite Member of the Doushantuo Formation were examined and their levels of pre-phosphatization decay estimated. The data produced from this examination reveal a strong taphonomic bias toward earlier (2-cell and 4-cell) cleavage stages, which tend to be well-preserved, and away from later (8-cell and 16-cell) cleavage stages, which tend to exhibit evidence for slight to intense levels of organic decay. In addition, the natural abundances of these embryos tend to decrease with advancement in cleavage stage, and no evidence of more advanced (beyond 16-cell) cleavage stages or eventual adult forms were found in this study. One possible explanation for this taphonomic bias toward early cleavage stages is that later cleavage stages and adult forms were more physically delicate, allowing them to be more easily damaged during burial and reworking, allowing for more rapid decay. The spectacular preservation of these embryos was probably aided by their likely internal enrichment in phosphate-rich yolk, which would have caused their internal dissolved phosphate levels to reach critical levels with only miniscule organic decay, thereby hastening phosphatization. If internal sources of phosphate did indeed play a role in the phosphatization of these embryos, it may explain their prolific abundance in these rocks compared to other phosphatized fossils as well as indicating that metazoans lacking such internal phosphate sources were likely much more difficult to preserve. The phosphatic fossils of the Doushantuo Formation, therefore, provide an indispensable, yet restricted, window into Neoproterozoic life and metazoan origins.     

Extensive metazoan reefs from the Ediacaran Nama Group,Namibia: the rise of benthic suspension feeding

We describe new, ecologically complex reef types from the Ediacaran Nama Group, Namibia, dated at ~548 million years ago (Ma), where the earliest known skeletal metazoans, Cloudina riemkeae and Namacalathus, formed extensive reefs up to 20 m in height and width. C. riemkeae formed densely aggregating assemblages associated with microbialite and thrombolite, each from 30 to 100 mm high, which successively colonised former generations to create stacked laminar or columnar reef frameworks. C. riemkeae individuals show budding, multiple, radiating attachment sites and cementation between individuals. Isolated Namacalathus either intergrew with C. riemkeae or formed dense, monospecific aggregations succeeding C. riemkeae frameworks, providing a potential example of environmentally mediated ecological succession. Cloudina and Namacalathus also grow cryptically, either as pendent aggregations from laminar crypt ceilings in microbial framework reefs or as clusters associated with thrombolite attached to neptunian dyke walls. These reefs are notable for their size, exceeding that of the succeeding Lower Cambrian archaeocyath–microbial communities. The repeated colonisation shown by C. riemkeae of former assemblages implies philopatric larval aggregation to colonise limited favourable substrates. As such, not only were skeletal metazoans more important contributors to reef building in the Ediacaran, but there were also more variable reef types with more complex ecologies, than previously thought. Such an abundance of inferred suspension feeders with biomineralised skeletons indicates the efficient exploitation of new resources, more active carbon removal with a strengthened energy flow between planktic and benthic realms, and the rise of biological control over benthic carbonate production. These mark the prelude to the Cambrian Explosion and the modernisation of the global carbon cycle.     

Choanoflagellates, choanocytes, and animal multicellularity

Abstract. It is widely accepted that multicellular animals (metazoans) constitute a monophyletic unit, deriving from ancestral choanoflagellate‐like protists that gave rise to simple choanocyte‐bearing metazoans. However, a re‐assessment of molecular and histological evidence on choanoflagellates, sponge choanocytes, and other metazoan cells reveals that the status of choanocytes as a fundamental cell type in metazoan evolution is unrealistic. Rather, choanocytes are specialized cells that develop from non‐collared ciliated cells during sponge embryogenesis. Although choanocytes of adult sponges have no obvious homologue among metazoans, larval cells transdifferentiating into choanocytes at metamorphosis do have such homologues. The evidence reviewed here also indicates that sponge larvae are architecturally closer than adult sponges to the remaining metazoans. This may mean that the basic multicellular organismal architecture from which diploblasts evolved, that is, the putative planktonic archimetazoan, was more similar to a modern poriferan larva lacking choanocytes than to an adult sponge. Alternatively, it may mean that other metazoans evolved from a neotenous larva of ancient sponges. Indeed, the Porifera possess some features of intriguing evolutionary significance: (1) widespread occurrence of internal fertilization and a notable diversity of gastrulation modes, (2) dispersal through architecturally complex lecithotrophic larvae, in which an ephemeral archenteron (in dispherula larvae) and multiciliated and syncytial cells (in trichimella larvae) occur, (3) acquisition of direct development by some groups, and (4) replacement of choanocyte‐based filter‐feeding by carnivory in some sponges. Together, these features strongly suggest that the Porifera may have a longer and more complicated evolutionary history than traditionally assumed, and also that the simple anatomy of modern adult sponges may have resulted from a secondary simplification. This makes the idea of a neotenous evolution less likely than that of a larva‐like choanocyte‐lacking archimetazoan. From this perspective, the view that choanoflagellates may be simplified sponge‐derived metazoans, rather than protists, emerges as a viable alternative hypothesis. This idea neither conflicts with the available evidence nor can be disproved by it, and must be specifically re‐examined by further approaches combining morphological and molecular information. Interestingly, several microbial lin°Cages lacking choanocyte‐like morphology, such as Corallochytrea, Cristidiscoidea, Ministeriida, and Mesomycetozoea, have recently been placed at the boundary between fungi and animals, becoming a promising source of information in addition to the choanoflagellates in the search for the unicellular origin of animal multicellularity.     

Expansion of divergent SEA domains in cell surface proteins and nucleoporin 54

SEA (s ea urchin sperm protein, e nterokinase, a grin) domains, many of which possess autoproteolysis activity, have been found in a number of cell surface and secreted proteins. Despite high sequence divergence, SEA domains were also proposed to be present in dystroglycan based on a conserved autoproteolysis motif and receptor‐type protein phosphatase IA‐2 based on structural similarity. The presence of a SEA domain adjacent to the transmembrane segment appears to be a recurring theme in quite a number of type I transmembrane proteins on the cell surface, such as MUC1, dystroglycan, IA‐2, and Notch receptors. By comparative sequence and structural analyses, we identified dystroglycan‐like proteins with SEA domains in Capsaspora owczarzaki of the Filasterea group, one of the closest single‐cell relatives of metazoans. We also detected novel and divergent SEA domains in a variety of cell surface proteins such as EpCAM, α/ε‐sarcoglycan, PTPRR, collectrin/Tmem27, amnionless, CD34, KIAA0319, fibrocystin‐like protein, and a number of cadherins. While these proteins are mostly from metazoans or their single cell relatives such as choanoflagellates and Filasterea, fibrocystin‐like proteins with SEA domains were found in several other eukaryotic lineages including green algae, Alveolata, Euglenozoa, and Haptophyta, suggesting an ancient evolutionary origin. In addition, the intracellular protein Nucleoporin 54 (Nup54) acquired a divergent SEA domain in choanoflagellates and metazoans.     

Vasa genes: Emerging roles in the germ line and in multipotent cells

Sexually reproducing metazoans establish a cell lineage during development that is ultimately dedicated to gamete production. Work in a variety of animals suggests that a group of conserved molecular determinants act in this germ line maintenance and function. The most universal of these genes are Vasa and Vasa‐like DEAD‐box RNA helicase genes. However, recent evidence indicates that Vasa genes also function in other cell types, distinct from the germ line. Here we evaluate our current understanding of Vasa function and its regulation during development, addressing Vasa's emerging role in multipotent cells. We also explore the evolutionary diversification of the N‐terminal domain of this gene and how this impacts the association of Vasa with nuage‐like perinuclear structures.     

Biodiversity of Living,Non-marine,Thrombolites of Lake Clifton,Western Australia

Lake Clifton in Western Australia is recognized as a critically endangered ecosystem and the only thrombolite reef in the southern hemisphere. There have been concerns that increases in salinity and nutrient run-off have significantly impacted upon the thrombolite microbial community. Here we used cultivation-independent molecular approaches to characterize the microbial diversity of the thrombolites at Lake Clifton. The most dominant phyla currently represented are the Proteobacteria with significant populations of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Cyanobacteria, previously invoked as the main drivers of thrombolite growth, represent only a small fraction (～1–3% relative abundance) of the microbial community. We report an increase in salinity and nitrogen levels at Lake Clifton that may be contributing to a change in dominant microbial populations. This heightens concerns about the long-term health of the Lake Clifton thrombolites; future work is needed to determine if phyla now dominating this system are capable of the required mineral precipitation for continued thrombolite growth.     

陕南寒武系下部宽川铺组帽球状化石*

陕南寒武纪早期宽川铺组微体球状化石类型多样,如何正确辨别这些球状化石的生物属性是当前早期生命演化古生物学研究中的一个难点。我们在宽川铺组中发现了一类为数众多,具有一个或者多个不规则的帽状隆起结构以及翻边帽沿的帽状化石。研究表明这些帽状化石均为不完整的个体,其完整形态呈不规则的凹球形。根据帽球状化石帽身的数量和相对位置,这类化石可划分为"单帽型"、"双帽型"和"复帽型"三种类型。这些凹球状化石呈双层壳壁,内壁光滑,外壁粗糙。因为凹球状化石形态及其表面小孔与微体藻类、后生动物的胚胎以及壳体化石差异都非常显著,所以推测这类化石可能与带壳原生动物亲缘关系最为紧密。