Boron-containing organic pigments from a Jurassic red alga.

ABSTRACT: Organic biomolecules that have retained their basic chemical structures over geological periods (molecular fossils) occur in a wide range of geological samples and provide valuable paleobiological, paleoenvironmental, and geochemical information not attainable from other sources. In rare cases, such compounds are even preserved with their specific functional groups and still occur within the organisms that produced them, providing direct information on the biochemical inventory of extinct organisms and their possible evolutionary relationships. Here we report the discovery of an exceptional group of boron-containing compounds, the borolithochromes, causing the distinct pink coloration of well-preserved specimens of the Jurassic red alga Solenopora jurassica. The borolithochromes are charac

SUBMITTER: Wolkenstein K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2984207 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature