High Temperature as a Mechanism for Plant Cytoplasm Preservation in Fossils  

作　　者：WANG Xin 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology andPalaeontology, 39 Beijing Dong Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China [2]Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611-7800, USA

出　　处：《Acta Geologica Sinica(English Edition)》2007年第2期183-193,共11页地质学报（英文版）

基　　金：the Royal Society K. C. Wong Fellowships;China Postdoctoral Science Foundation （No. 2005037746）; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy （Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, No. 053103）; Jiangsu Planned Project for Postdoctoral Research Funds, National Natural Science Foundation of China Program （No. 40632010 and No. J0630967）; Sigma Xi Society ;the Deep Time RCN for their financial support.

摘　　要：Because the cytoplasm of a plant normally degrades after the death of the plant, finding cytoplasm in a plant body after a prolonged period of time, especially in fossil plants, is unexpected. Recent work on several 100-Myr-old plant fossils from Kansas, USA indicates, however, that cells and their contents can be preserved. Most of the cells in these fossil plants appear to be in a state of plasmolysis, and these fossil cells bear a strong resemblance to laboratory-baked cells of extant plant tissues. Based on a comparison with extant material plus biophysical and biochemical analyses of the cytoplasm degrading process, a new hypothesis for cytoplasm preservation in nature is proposed： high temperature, a concomitant of commonly seen wildfires, may preserve cytoplasm in fossil plants. This hypothesis implies that fossilized cytoplasm should be rather common and an appropriate substance for research, unlike previously thought. Research on fossil cytoplasm closely integrates paleobotany with biochemistry, biophysics, as well as fire ecology, and invites inputs from these fields to paleobotany to interpret these provocative findings.Because the cytoplasm of a plant normally degrades after the death of the plant, finding cytoplasm in a plant body after a prolonged period of time, especially in fossil plants, is unexpected. Recent work on several 100-Myr-old plant fossils from Kansas, USA indicates, however, that cells and their contents can be preserved. Most of the cells in these fossil plants appear to be in a state of plasmolysis, and these fossil cells bear a strong resemblance to laboratory-baked cells of extant plant tissues. Based on a comparison with extant material plus biophysical and biochemical analyses of the cytoplasm degrading process, a new hypothesis for cytoplasm preservation in nature is proposed： high temperature, a concomitant of commonly seen wildfires, may preserve cytoplasm in fossil plants. This hypothesis implies that fossilized cytoplasm should be rather common and an appropriate substance for research, unlike previously thought. Research on fossil cytoplasm closely integrates paleobotany with biochemistry, biophysics, as well as fire ecology, and invites inputs from these fields to paleobotany to interpret these provocative findings.

关 键 词：CRETACEOUS wildfire fossil high temperature plant cytoplasm 

分 类 号：Q914.2[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]