New Applications of Light and Electron Microscopic Techniques for the Study of Microbiological Inclusions in Amber

Ascaso, Carmen; Wierzchoś, Jacek; Corral, José Carmelo; López, Rivera; Alonso, Juan José Castillo

doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2003)077<1182:naolae>2.0.co;2

Cited by 41 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These 3D images were captured digitally via an RGB television camera connected to a personal computer provided with Synchroscopy Automontage software (see Brasier et al 2002). This technique provides an alternative to the confocal laser scanning technique for 3D analysis employed by Ascaso et al (2003) and has the ability to maintain the distinctive coloration of the amber. Lake & Shephard-Thorn (1987).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First report of amber with spider webs and microbial inclusions from the earliest Cretaceous ( c . 140 Ma) of Hastings, Sussex

Brasier

Cotton

Yenney

2009

JGS

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Early Cretaceous amber resins with macroscopic inclusions are extremely rare, as are ambers with inclusions from the parent plant. Here, we report earliest Cretaceous amber resins found within alluvial soils of the Ashdown Formation near Hastings in Sussex. In contrast to younger Cretaceous examples, this Hastings amber was arguably deposited shortly before the emergence of the earliest flowering plant communities c . 140 Ma BP. Preliminary studies reveal plentiful organic inclusions, including vascular tissues, tracheid cells and putative resin ducts of the parent coniferous trees. We also report remarkably preserved soil microbes, including structures comparable with actinobacterial colonies, putative fungal or cyanobacterial filaments, and the earliest examples of spider silk webs. The last includes threads that are twisted, paired and coated with sticky fluid droplets, comparable with those of araneoid spider webs studied by us in modern cherry tree resins. Together, these Hastings amber inclusions became entombed within resins that seeped through the charred bark of coniferous trees subjected to severe fire damage, whose logs were then swept onto fluvial wetlands by floods. Embalming resins of this kind may have evolved to combat damage associated with insects, fungi and widespread forest fires.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First report of amber with spider webs and microbial inclusions from the earliest Cretaceous ( c . 140 Ma) of Hastings, Sussex

Brasier

Cotton

Yenney

2009

JGS

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“…Differences between "true/natural/biogenic" and false/synthetic/artificial amber can be detected by some classical tests such as production of sweet, pine smell when burnt and insolubility in acetone and salt water test indicating flotation displayed by true, authentic amber [4]. Other tests include fluorescence test, refractive index test, IR spectroscopy, polarized light test [5]. Since gaps in knowledge about detection of amber in tropical beach sand samples were found in literature [6,7], the present study was aimed at development of novel techniques for relatively rapid high frequency isolation and microscopic visualization of amber using samples of tropical beach sand collected from coast in Goa, India.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Techniques to Study Ancient Micro Amber from Tropical Beach Sand Reveal a Treasurehouse of Exceptionally Well Preserved Fossilized Microfungi

Dabolkar¹

2017

IJRASET

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Simple, novel techniques developed for separation and simultaneous direct morphometric study of Amber Micro Fragments (AMF) from tropical beach sand are reported yielding rich information on unidentified fossilized microfungi. Sieves of different mesh sizes were used to separate AMF from tropical beach sand. Fractions below 150 μm which proved rich in AMF were used for manual retrieval using stereomicroscope. A handprinted slide microarray having 4 X 12 squares used for microscopic examination of multiple AMF mounts revealed AMF having either rough or smooth surfaces and with or without microinclusions. The microinclusions could be morphologically attributed to fungi. The potential for systematic and comprehensive studies to retrieve and examine AMF at high frequency from tropical beach sand in the world and especially those which are threatened due to sea level rise due to climate change was demonstrated. The potential of retrievable AMF from tropical beach sand in microbiological, metagenomic studies and as biological proxies to reconstruct bygone biospheres has been highlighted.

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“…However, a plethora of these organisms, historically referred to as 'protists', has been repeatedly reported from Triassic, Cretaceous, and Cenozoic ambers (see Girard & Adl, 2011 for overview). As a result, fossils in amber provide unique opportunities to assess the evolutionary history and the phylogenetic relationships of aquatic and terrestrial micro-organisms with otherwise poor fossil records, and to enlighten the composition and diversity of terrestrial microbiocenoses (Poinar et al, 1993;Sch€ onborn et al, 1999;Ascaso et al, 2003;Schmidt et al, 2006;Girard et al, 2009;Mart ın-Gonz ales et al, 2009;Adl et al, 2011). As a result, fossils in amber provide unique opportunities to assess the evolutionary history and the phylogenetic relationships of aquatic and terrestrial micro-organisms with otherwise poor fossil records, and to enlighten the composition and diversity of terrestrial microbiocenoses (Poinar et al, 1993;Sch€ onborn et al, 1999;Ascaso et al, 2003;Schmidt et al, 2006;Girard et al, 2009;Mart ın-Gonz ales et al, 2009;Adl et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amber preserves soft-bodied micro-organisms in microscopic fidelity, including cells and organelles (e.g., Schmidt et al, 2006;Schmidt & Dilcher, 2007). As a result, fossils in amber provide unique opportunities to assess the evolutionary history and the phylogenetic relationships of aquatic and terrestrial micro-organisms with otherwise poor fossil records, and to enlighten the composition and diversity of terrestrial microbiocenoses (Poinar et al, 1993;Sch€ onborn et al, 1999;Ascaso et al, 2003;Schmidt et al, 2006;Girard et al, 2009;Mart ın-Gonz ales et al, 2009;Adl et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbe‐like inclusions in tree resins and implications for the fossil record of protists in amber

et al. 2016

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During the past two decades, a plethora of fossil micro-organisms have been described from various Triassic to Miocene ambers. However, in addition to entrapped microbes, ambers commonly contain microscopic inclusions that sometimes resemble amoebae, ciliates, microfungi, and unicellular algae in size and shape, but do not provide further diagnostic features thereof. For a better assessment of the actual fossil record of unicellular eukaryotes in amber, we studied equivalent inclusions in modern resin of the Araucariaceae; this conifer family comprises important amber-producers in Earth history. Using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), we investigated the chemical nature of the inclusion matter and the resin matrix. Whereas the matrix, as expected, showed a more hydrocarbon/aromatic-dominated composition, the inclusions contain abundant salt ions and polar organics. However, the absence of signals characteristic for cellular biomass, namely distinctive proteinaceous amino acids and lipid moieties, indicates that the inclusions do not contain microbial cellular matter but salts and hydrophilic organic substances that probably derived from the plant itself. Rather than representing protists or their remains, these microbe-like inclusions, for which we propose the term 'pseudoinclusions', consist of compounds that are immiscible with the terpenoid resin matrix and were probably secreted in small amounts together with the actual resin by the plant tissue. Consequently, reports of protists from amber that are only based on the similarity of the overall shape and size to extant taxa, but do not provide relevant features at light-microscopical and ultrastructural level, cannot be accepted as unambiguous fossil evidence for these particular groups.

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New Applications of Light and Electron Microscopic Techniques for the Study of Microbiological Inclusions in Amber

Cited by 41 publications

References 29 publications

First report of amber with spider webs and microbial inclusions from the earliest Cretaceous ( c . 140 Ma) of Hastings, Sussex

First report of amber with spider webs and microbial inclusions from the earliest Cretaceous ( c . 140 Ma) of Hastings, Sussex

Novel Techniques to Study Ancient Micro Amber from Tropical Beach Sand Reveal a Treasurehouse of Exceptionally Well Preserved Fossilized Microfungi

Microbe‐like inclusions in tree resins and implications for the fossil record of protists in amber

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