Late Proterozoic to Early Palaeozoic platform deposits of Southern Moravia (Czech Republic)

Integrated sedimentological and palaeontological study of borehole cores through plat orm siliciclastic deposits of the southernmost part of Brunovistulicum (S Moravia) shows convincing evidence for the Cambrian age of a considerable portion organic-walled microfossils of Late Proterozoic (Ediacaran) age have been found in a sample from the Menín-1 borehole. Thirty genera characteristic of the Ediacaran have been recognized. Part, though, of the siliciclastic succession of S Brunovistulicum is Devonian in age. The platform deposits studied are consid red to have the same source area but the degree of maturity of the Devonian clastics rocks is generally higher than that of the older strata. Facies analysis indicates a predominance of deltaic settings (braided and fan del tas); similar sedimentary environments are suggested for both the Ediacaran/Cambrian and Devonian successions

Multicolour three dimensional structured illumination microscopy of immunolabeled plant microtubules and associated proteins

Abstract Background In the present work, we provide an account of structured illumination microscopy (SIM) imaging of fixed and immunolabeled plant probes. We take advantage of SIM, to superresolve intracellular structures at a considerable z-range and circumvent its low temporal resolution capacity during the study of living samples. Further, we validate the protocol for the imaging of fixed transgenic material expressing fluorescent protein-based markers of different subcellular structures. Results Focus is given on 3D imaging of bulky subcellular structures, such as mitotic and cytokinetic microtubule arrays as well as on the performance of SIM using multichannel imaging and the quantitative correlations that can be deduced. As a proof of concept, we provide a superresolution output on the organization of cortical microtubules in wild-type and mutant Arabidopsis cells, including aberrant preprophase microtubule bands and phragmoplasts in a cytoskeletal mutant devoid of the p60 subunit of the microtubule severing protein KATANIN and refined details of cytoskeletal aberrations in the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) mutant mpk4. We further demonstrate, in a qualitative and quantitative manner, colocalizations between MPK6 and unknown dually phosphorylated and activated MAPK species and we follow the localization of the microtubule associated protein 65-3 (MAP65-3) in telophase and cytokinetic microtubular arrays. Conclusions 3D SIM is a powerful, versatile and adaptable microscopy method for elucidating spatial relationships between subcellular compartments. Improved methods of sample preparation aiming to the compensation of refractive index mismatches, allow the use of 3D SIM in the documentation of complex plant cell structures, such as microtubule arrays and the elucidation of their interactions with microtubule associated proteins

Baltica cradle of early land plants? Oldest record of trilete spores and diversecryptospore assemblages; evidence from Ordovician successions of Sweden

The origin of land plants is one of the most important evolutionary events in Earth’s history. The mode and timing of the terrestrialization of plants remains debated and previous data indicate Gondwana to be the center of land-plant radiation at ~ 470–460 Ma. Here we present the oldest occurrences of trilete spores, probably the earliest traces of vascular land plants yet recorded. The spores occur in Ordovician, Sandbian (455 million years old) successions in central Sweden, once part of the paleocontinent Baltica. These strata are independently dated by marine microfossils (conodonts) and 206Pb/238U dating of volcanic ash deposits. Our discovery extends the record of trilete spores globally by ~8 million years, and for Baltica by ~25 million years. Additionally, cryptospore assemblages are identified revealing a diverse and stable mid-Ordovician (Darriwilian: ~ 460 Ma) vegetation of free-sporing plants. The formation of regolith substrates on land as a consequence of permanent plant cover must in turn have affected the marine biota. We link these early land plant spore occurrences to the extensive, nutrient-rich volcanic ash deposits and propose Baltica as the possible original region of the radiation of early land plants.Financial support was also provided by Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCYT), PICT 2017-0532 to C. Rubinstein, and by the Swedish Research Council (VR) through Lund University Carbon Cycle Centre (LUCCI) to V. Vajda.</p

Stratigraphy, palynology and organic geochemistry of the Devonian-Mississippian metasedimentary Albergaria-a-Velha Unit (Porto-Tomar shear zone, W Portugal)

The Albergaria-a-Velha Unit is one of several tectonostratigraphic out-of-sequence units of the metamorphic belt associated with the Porto-Tomar shear zone (Ossa-Morena Zone, W Portugal). It is composed of considerably deformed - very low grade - metasediments, namely shales, siltstones and rare fine sandstones. In this work we present new sedimentological and biostratigraphical data that suggest the Albergaria-a-Velha Unit was deposited from the (?)early Frasnian to the Serpukhovian in a distal marine environment, where turbiditic and basinal sedimentation prevailed. Palynofacies analysis and lithological data point to a gradual increase of terrestrial input, suggesting a prograding system. Detrital framework data is indicative of a stable cratonic sediment source area composed of low grade metamorphic rocks. The timing of the onset of the Porto-Tomar shear zone activity and consequently its influence on the sedimentation of this unit is discussed. Organic petrology and geochemistry data indicate that the Albergaria-a-Velha Unit is within the dry gas window in terms of hydrocarbon generation ranges

Late Ordovician (Katian) spores in Sweden: oldest land plant remains from Baltica

A palynological study of the Ordovician–Silurian boundary (Katian–Rhuddanian) succession in the Röstaånga-1 drillcore, southern Sweden, has been performed. The lithology is dominated by mudstone and graptolitic shale, with subordinate limestone, formed in the deeper marine halo of southernBaltica. The palynological assemblages are dominated by marine microfossils, mainly chitinozoans and acritarchs. Sparse but well-preserved cryptospores, including Tetrahedraletes medinensis, Tetrahedraletes grayii and Pseudodyadospora sp., were encountered in the Lindegård Formation (late Katian–early Hirnantian), with the oldest record just above the first appearance of the graptolite species Dicellograptus complanatus. This represents the earliest record of early land plant spores from Sweden and possibly also from Baltica and implies that land plants had migrated to the palaeocontinent Baltica by at least the Late Ordovician