Experimental Preservation of Muscle Tissue in Quartz Sand and Kaolinite

Siliciclastic sediments of the Ediacaran Period contain exceptionally preserved fossils of macroscopic organisms, including three-dimensional casts and molds commonly found in sandstones and siltstones and some two-dimensional compressions reported in shales. The sporadic and variable associations of these exceptionally preserved macroscopic fossils with pyrite, clay minerals, and microbial fossils and textures complicate our understanding of fossilization processes. This hinders inferences about the evolutionary histories, tissue types, original morphologies, and lifestyles of the enigmatic Ediacara biota. Here, we investigate the delayed decay of scallop muscles buried in quartz sand or kaolinite for 45 days. This process occurs in the presence of microbial activity in mixed redox environments, but in the absence of thick, sealing microbial mats. Microbial processes that mediate organic decay and release the highest concentrations of silica and Fe(II) into the pore fluids are associated with the most extensive tissue decay. Delayed decay and the preservation of thick muscles in sand are associated with less intense microbial iron reduction and the precipitation of iron oxides and iron sulfides that contain Fe(II) or Fe(III). In contrast, muscles buried in kaolinite are coated only by <10 μm-thick clay veneers composed of kaolinite grains and newly formed K- and Fe(II)-rich aluminosilicate phases. Muscles that undergo delayed decay in kaolinite lose more mass relative to the muscles buried in sand and undergo vertical collapse. These findings show that the composition of minerals that coat or precipitate within the tissues and the vertical dimension of the preserved features can depend on the type of sediment that buries the muscles. Similar processes in the zone of oscillating redox likely facilitated the formation of exceptionally preserved macrofossils in Ediacaran siliciclastic sediments

Experimental Preservation of Muscle Tissue in Quartz Sand and Kaolinite

Siliciclastic sediments of the Ediacaran Period contain exceptionally preserved fossils of macroscopic organisms, including three-dimensional casts and molds commonly found in sandstones and siltstones and some two-dimensional compressions reported in shales. The sporadic and variable associations of these exceptionally preserved macroscopic fossils with pyrite, clay minerals, and microbial fossils and textures complicate our understanding of fossilization processes. This hinders inferences about the evolutionary histories, tissue types, original morphologies, and lifestyles of the enigmatic Ediacara biota. Here, we investigate the delayed decay of scallop muscles buried in quartz sand or kaolinite for 45 days. This process occurs in the presence of microbial activity in mixed redox environments, but in the absence of thick, sealing microbial mats. Microbial processes that mediate organic decay and release the highest concentrations of silica and Fe(II) into the pore fluids are associated with the most extensive tissue decay. Delayed decay and the preservation of thick muscles in sand are associated with less intense microbial iron reduction and the precipitation of iron oxides and iron sulfides that contain Fe(II) or Fe(III). In contrast, muscles buried in kaolinite are coated only by <10 μm-thick clay veneers composed of kaolinite grains and newly formed K- and Fe(II)-rich aluminosilicate phases. Muscles that undergo delayed decay in kaolinite lose more mass relative to the muscles buried in sand and undergo vertical collapse. These findings show that the composition of minerals that coat or precipitate within the tissues and the vertical dimension of the preserved features can depend on the type of sediment that buries the muscles. Similar processes in the zone of oscillating redox likely facilitated the formation of exceptionally preserved macrofossils in Ediacaran siliciclastic sediments

Study of mercury contamination in aquatic environments : fate and biogeochemical behavior, development of analytical methods for trace mercury analysis

Le mercure est un élément très particulier connu par sa densité et sa pression de vapeur élevé. C’est un élément omniprésent dans l'environnement et considéré comme un polluant mondial. Dans les eaux naturelles, le mercure est présent à des concentrations très faibles. Pour cette raison, un grand nombre de techniques analytiques ne permettent pas sa mesure directe, ce qui nécessite souvent une étape de préconcentration. La première partie de cette étude est axée sur le développement des méthodes analytiques pour la mesure du mercure par extraction en phase solide. Deux méthodes analytiques ont été développées, une technique basée sur le mécanisme d'échange d'anions en utilisant l'ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) et Une autre basée sur l'extraction en phase solide de mercure en utilisant le 5-phenylazo-8-hydroxyquinoline et la détection par CV-AFS (Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy). La dernière partie de ce travail est consacrée à l’étude de la distribution et le comportement biogéochimique du mercure dans les rivières de la Deûle et de la Lys (Nord de France). Les résultats obtenus montrent des concentrations élevées en mercure total (HgT) dans la Deûle, site contaminé par les activités de l'ancienne fonderie "Metaleurop". Les concentrations mesurées dans la Lys sont beaucoup plus faibles. Bien que les sédiments de la Deûle soient très chargés par HgT par rapport aux sédiments de la Lys, des pourcentages de methylmercure beaucoup plus élevés ont été trouvées dans la Lys.Mercury is a very particular element conferred by its high density and vapor pressure. It is a ubiquitous element in the environment and considered as global pollutant. Mercury is among the most hazardous environmental pollutants, given by its organic form, methylmercury (MeHg or CH3Hg). In natural waters, mercury is present at very low concentrations. For this reason, most analytical techniques do not achieve accurate direct measurement of Hg which necessitates preconcentration to meet their limit of detection. The first part of this study focuses on the development of analytical methods for the measurement of mercury by solid phase extraction. Two analytical methods have been developed; one based on the anion exchange mechanism using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and the other one based on the solid phase extraction of mercury using 5-phenylazo-8- hydroxyquinoline and detection by CV-AFS (Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy). Part of this work also includes the distribution and biogeochemical behavior of mercury in rivers of the Deûle and Lys (Northern France). The results have showed high concentrations of total mercury (HgT) in the Deûle contaminated by a former smelter "Metaleurop". The concentrations of HgT measured in the Lys are much lower. Although Deûle sediments are highly burdened with HgT as compared to Lys sediments, much higher percentage of methylmercury is found in Lys River. Suspended particles are the major Hg carrier phase and transporters of Hg pollution from Deûle to Lys River

Study of mercury contamination in aquatic environments (fate and biogeochemical behavior, development of analytical methods for trace mercury analysis)

Le mercure est un élément très particulier connu par sa densité et sa pression de vapeur élevé. C est un élément omniprésent dans l'environnement et considéré comme un polluant mondial. Dans les eaux naturelles, le mercure est présent à des concentrations très faibles. Pour cette raison, un grand nombre de techniques analytiques ne permettent pas sa mesure directe, ce qui nécessite souvent une étape de préconcentration. La première partie de cette étude est axée sur le développement des méthodes analytiques pour la mesure du mercure par extraction en phase solide. Deux méthodes analytiques ont été développées, une technique basée sur le mécanisme d'échange d'anions en utilisant l'ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) et Une autre basée sur l'extraction en phase solide de mercure en utilisant le 5-phenylazo-8-hydroxyquinoline et la détection par CV-AFS (Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy). La dernière partie de ce travail est consacrée à l étude de la distribution et le comportement biogéochimique du mercure dans les rivières de la Deûle et de la Lys (Nord de France). Les résultats obtenus montrent des concentrations élevées en mercure total (HgT) dans la Deûle, site contaminé par les activités de l'ancienne fonderie "Metaleurop". Les concentrations mesurées dans la Lys sont beaucoup plus faibles. Bien que les sédiments de la Deûle soient très chargés par HgT par rapport aux sédiments de la Lys, des pourcentages de methylmercure beaucoup plus élevés ont été trouvées dans la Lys.Mercury is a very particular element conferred by its high density and vapor pressure. It is a ubiquitous element in the environment and considered as global pollutant. Mercury is among the most hazardous environmental pollutants, given by its organic form, methylmercury (MeHg or CH3Hg). In natural waters, mercury is present at very low concentrations. For this reason, most analytical techniques do not achieve accurate direct measurement of Hg which necessitates preconcentration to meet their limit of detection. The first part of this study focuses on the development of analytical methods for the measurement of mercury by solid phase extraction. Two analytical methods have been developed; one based on the anion exchange mechanism using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and the other one based on the solid phase extraction of mercury using 5-phenylazo-8- hydroxyquinoline and detection by CV-AFS (Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy). Part of this work also includes the distribution and biogeochemical behavior of mercury in rivers of the Deûle and Lys (Northern France). The results have showed high concentrations of total mercury (HgT) in the Deûle contaminated by a former smelter "Metaleurop". The concentrations of HgT measured in the Lys are much lower. Although Deûle sediments are highly burdened with HgT as compared to Lys sediments, much higher percentage of methylmercury is found in Lys River. Suspended particles are the major Hg carrier phase and transporters of Hg pollution from Deûle to Lys River.LILLE1-Bib. Electronique (590099901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Formation of ordered dolomite in anaerobic photosynthetic biofilms

Dolomite enabled the preservation of fine microbial textures in some Archean and Proterozoic marine microbialites, but has rarely done so during the Phanerozoic. Here, we report precipitation of dolomite in anoxygenic photosynthetic biofilms grown under chemical conditions relevant for Archean seawater. Ordered dolomite nucleates primarily on the surfaces of photosynthetic cells when manganese(II) is present, and nanocrystals of disordered dolomite form on exopolymeric substances in microbial cultures grown either in the dark or without manganese. Dolomite nucleation and maturation on different surfaces in photosynthetically active cultures amended with 0.1-1 mM manganese(II) enables the preservation of biofilm textures at scales larger than individual microbial cells. This provides a new model for the preservation of microbial textures by dolomite before the oxygenation of the oceanic photic zone.National Science Foundation (Award DMR-1419807

Formation of Zerovalent Iron in Iron-Reducing Cultures of Methanosarcina barkeri

© 2020 American Chemical Society. Methanogenic archaea have been shown to reduce iron from ferric [Fe(III)] to ferrous [Fe(II)] state, but minerals that form during iron reduction by different methanogens remain to be characterized. Here, we show that zerovalent iron (ZVI) minerals, ferrite [α-Fe(0)] and austenite [γ-Fe(0)], appear in the X-ray diffraction spectra minutes after the addition of ferrihydrite to the cultures of a methanogenic archaeon, Methanosarcina barkeri (M. barkeri). M. barkeri cells and redox-active, nonenzymatic soluble organic compounds in organic-rich spent culture supernatants can promote the formation of ZVI; the latter compounds also likely stabilize ZVI. Methanogenic microbes that inhabit organic- and Fe(III)-rich anaerobic environments may similarly reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II) and ZVI, with implications for the preservation of paleomagnetic signals during sediment diagenesis and potential applications in the protection of iron metals against corrosion and in the green synthesis of ZVI.Simons Foundation (Grant 327126)NSF (Grants 14-374 and DMR-1419807

Light-driven anaerobic microbial oxidation of manganese.

Oxygenic photosynthesis supplies organic carbon to the modern biosphere, but it is uncertain when this metabolism originated. It has previously been proposed1,2 that photosynthetic reaction centres capable of splitting water arose by about 3&nbsp;billion years ago on the basis of the inferred presence of manganese oxides in Archaean sedimentary rocks. However, this assumes that manganese oxides can be produced only in the presence of molecular oxygen3, reactive oxygen species4,5 or by high-potential photosynthetic reaction centres6,7. Here we show that communities of anoxygenic photosynthetic microorganisms biomineralize manganese oxides in the absence of molecular oxygen and high-potential photosynthetic reaction centres. Microbial oxidation of Mn(II) under strictly anaerobic conditions during the Archaean eon would have produced geochemical signals identical to those used to date the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis before the Great Oxidation Event1,2. This light-dependent process may also produce manganese oxides in the photic zones of modern anoxic water bodies and sediments

Experimental Preservation of Muscle Tissue in Quartz Sand and Kaolinite

Siliciclastic sediments of the Ediacaran Period contain exceptionally preserved fossils of macroscopic organisms, including three-dimensional casts and molds commonly found in sandstones and siltstones and some two-dimensional compressions reported in shales. The sporadic and variable associations of these exceptionally preserved macroscopic fossils with pyrite, clay minerals, and microbial fossils and textures complicate our understanding of fossilization processes. This hinders inferences about the evolutionary histories, tissue types, original morphologies, and lifestyles of the enigmatic Ediacara biota. Here, we investigate the delayed decay of scallop muscles buried in quartz sand or kaolinite for 45 days. This process occurs in the presence of microbial activity in mixed redox environments, but in the absence of thick, sealing microbial mats. Microbial processes that mediate organic decay and release the highest concentrations of silica and Fe(II) into the pore fluids are associated with the most extensive tissue decay. Delayed decay and the preservation of thick muscles in sand are associated with less intense microbial iron reduction and the precipitation of iron oxides and iron sulfides that contain Fe(II) or Fe(III). In contrast, muscles buried in kaolinite are coated only by &lt;10 μm-thick clay veneers composed of kaolinite grains and newly formed K- and Fe(II)-rich aluminosilicate phases. Muscles that undergo delayed decay in kaolinite lose more mass relative to the muscles buried in sand and undergo vertical collapse. These findings show that the composition of minerals that coat or precipitate within the tissues and the vertical dimension of the preserved features can depend on the type of sediment that buries the muscles. Similar processes in the zone of oscillating redox likely facilitated the formation of exceptionally preserved macrofossils in Ediacaran siliciclastic sediments.NASA Astrobiology Institute (Grant NNA13AA90A)Simons Foundation (Grants 327126 and 344707)American Chemical Society (Award 54498-ND8