Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Fossilized Nuclei and Chromosomes Reveal 180 Million Years of Genomic Stasis in Royal Ferns

Bomfleur, Benjamin ; McLoughlin, Stephen and Vajda, Vivi LU (2014) In Science 343(6177). p.1376-1377
Abstract
Rapidly permineralized fossils can provide exceptional insights into the evolution of life over geological time. Here, we present an exquisitely preserved, calcified stem of a royal fern (Osmundaceae) from Early Jurassic lahar deposits of Sweden in which authigenic mineral precipitation from hydrothermal brines occurred so rapidly that it preserved cytoplasm, cytosol granules, nuclei, and even chromosomes in various stages of cell division. Morphometric parameters of interphase nuclei match those of extant Osmundaceae, indicating that the genome size of these reputed "living fossils" has remained unchanged over at least 180 million years-a paramount example of evolutionary stasis.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Science
volume
343
issue
6177
pages
1376 - 1377
publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
external identifiers
  • wos:000333108500044
  • scopus:84896924702
  • pmid:24653037
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.1249884
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6f7c22db-d06d-4d96-aec9-e5c11f1b51ee (old id 4410970)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:05:10
date last changed
2022-03-30 00:26:17
@article{6f7c22db-d06d-4d96-aec9-e5c11f1b51ee,
  abstract     = {{Rapidly permineralized fossils can provide exceptional insights into the evolution of life over geological time. Here, we present an exquisitely preserved, calcified stem of a royal fern (Osmundaceae) from Early Jurassic lahar deposits of Sweden in which authigenic mineral precipitation from hydrothermal brines occurred so rapidly that it preserved cytoplasm, cytosol granules, nuclei, and even chromosomes in various stages of cell division. Morphometric parameters of interphase nuclei match those of extant Osmundaceae, indicating that the genome size of these reputed "living fossils" has remained unchanged over at least 180 million years-a paramount example of evolutionary stasis.}},
  author       = {{Bomfleur, Benjamin and McLoughlin, Stephen and Vajda, Vivi}},
  issn         = {{1095-9203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6177}},
  pages        = {{1376--1377}},
  publisher    = {{American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}},
  series       = {{Science}},
  title        = {{Fossilized Nuclei and Chromosomes Reveal 180 Million Years of Genomic Stasis in Royal Ferns}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1249884}},
  doi          = {{10.1126/science.1249884}},
  volume       = {{343}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}