Evidence for Endogenous Collagen in <i>Edmontosaurus</i> Fossil Bone.

ABSTRACT: Reports of proteins in fossilized bones have been a subject of controversy in the scientific literature because it is assumed that fossilization results in the destruction of all organic components. In this paper, a novel combination of analytical techniques is used to address this question for an exceptionally well-preserved Edmontosaurus sacrum excavated from the Upper Cretaceous strata of the South Dakota Hell Creek Formation. Cross-polarized light microscopy (XPol) shows birefringence consistent with collagen presence. Tandem LC-MS unambiguously identified, and for the first time quantified, hydroxyproline, a unique collagen-indicator amino acid, in acid-digested samples from the Edmontosaurus. LC-MS/MS bottom-up proteomics shows identical collagen peptide sequences previ

SUBMITTER: Tuinstra L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11822843 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature