Adipocere formation in biofilms as a first step in soft tissue preservation.

ABSTRACT: The preservation of soft tissue in the fossil record is mostly due to the replacement of organic structures by minerals (e.g. calcite, aragonite or apatite) called pseudomorphs. In rare cases soft tissues were preserved by pyrite. We assume that adipocere, as the shaping component, might be a preliminary stage in the pyritisation of soft tissues under anaerobic conditions. Using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-UV/MS) and confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS) we were able to demonstrate the transformation of the hepatopancreas (digestive gland) of the crayfish Cambarellus diminutus [Hobbs 1945] into adipocere within only 9 days, just inside a biofilm. Microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) which were responsible for the biofilm (

SUBMITTER: Mahler B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9203803 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature