The Institute of Paleontology made progress in the study of the evolution of multicellular organisms

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The British "Nature" magazine published on February 17th published a scientific paper entitled "Early-Form Differentiating Macro-Eukaryotic Organisms of the Ediacaran Period" presided over by the scientists of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences This study provided the oldest fossil evidence for the early evolution of macro-eukaryotes.

The research was funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the State Key Laboratory of Modern Paleontology and Stratigraphy. Researcher Yuan Xunlai, Ph.D. Professors completed together.

The emergence of multicellular macro organisms is a very important innovation in the evolutionary history of life on earth. After multicellularization of organisms, there is differentiation of cells, which further realizes the differentiation of organs and the emergence of various functions and morphologies. In today's biosphere, almost all human-visible life, including our human beings, are multicellular macro-organisms. They belong to the eukaryote group on the tree of biological lineages, and are also often referred to as "higher life." In the geological history, since the Cambrian, these higher life forms are the main body of the earth ’s biosphere, but when and how did they evolve from single-celled organisms under what kind of environment and in what environment? To answer these questions, only biological fossils preserved in ancient rock formations can provide the most direct evidence.

In the history of life on Earth, the oldest known macroeukaryotic combination is the "Edikara Biota", of which the "Avalon biota" (Avalon biota) was produced in northern Canada 575-565 million years ago ) The earliest appeared. Prior to this, reliable macro-eukaryotic fossils were extremely rare, and it is generally believed that the eukaryotes of that period were mainly micro-body, and the oxygen content in the Earth ’s atmosphere was not sufficient to support the large amount of macro-eukaryotes. development of.

The results reported by Researcher Yuan Xunlai and others in the journal Nature have brought new insights into the evolution and environmental background of early macro-eukaryotes. They conducted a lot of excavation and in-depth research on the "Lantian Biota" near Lantian Town, Xiuning County, Anhui Province, and believed that:

(1) The "Lantian Biota" produced in the black shale of the Lantian Formation in the early Ediacaran Period is the oldest macroeukaryotic biota to date, the age is limited to 635-580 million years ago, earlier than before All Ediacaran biotas reported.

(2) The biota includes not only fan-like and clump-like algae, but also metazoans with tentacles and similar intestinal characteristics and morphology comparable to modern coelenterates or worms. According to the existing findings, at least 15 macroscopic organisms of different types can be identified. Their form is preserved intact, and most types have fixation devices, indicating that it is a benthic macrobiota.

(3) The fine bedding of the shale that preserved the fossils was developed, and no signs of hydrodynamic deposition and transportation were found, indicating that the "Lantian Biota" was buried and preserved in situ, and their living environment should be below the maximum wave base level, transparent Among the light. According to the ancient geographical location at that time and the reference to modern marine environment standards, the "Lantian Biota" should live in a still water environment with a water depth between 50 and 200 meters.

The study shows that shortly after the end of the Neoproterozoic "Snowball Earth" event, macro-eukaryotes with diverse forms, including algae and metazoans, experienced rapid radiation. At the same time, it also means that the oxygen content in the atmosphere has increased significantly during this period. The deeper seawater has changed from the reduced state before "Snowball Earth" to an intermittent oxidation state, which is a macro-eukaryote. Survival provides conditions.

In the same issue of the "Nature" news and commentary column, Canada's international early life research expert Prof. Guy Narbonne wrote a special article entitled "Biology has become bigger at this moment" for comment. "The Lantian biota opened a new window for the study of early complex macro life", "they are the earliest macro organisms on Earth to date".

Paper related information: Yuan Xunlai, Chen Zhe, Xiao Shuhai, Zhou Chuanming, Hua Hong. 2011. An early Ediacaran assemblage of macroscopic and morphologically differentiated eukaryotes. Nature. 470: 390-393.

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