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Geology; October 1992; v. 20; no. 10; p. 871-874; DOI: 10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0871:POTBPO>2.3.CO;2
© 1992 Geological Society of America
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Preservation of the bone protein osteocalcin in dinosaurs

Gerard Muyzer1, Philip Sandberg2, Marjo H.J. Knapen3, Cees Vermeer3, Matthew Collins1 and Peter Westbroek1

1 Geobiochemistry Unit, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 5, 2333 CC, Leiden, Netherlands
2 Department of Geology, University of Illinois, 1301 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801
3 Department of Biochemistry, University of Limburg, PB 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, Netherlands

Two different immunological assays were used to identify the remains of a bone matrix protein, osteocalcin (OC), in the bones of dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates. Antibodies raised against OC from modern vertebrates showed strong immunological cross-reactivity with modern and relatively young fossil samples and significant reactions with some of the dinosaur bone extracts. The presence of OC was confirmed by the detection of a peptide-bound, uniquely vertebrate amino acid, {gamma}carboxyglutamic acid (Gla). Preservation of OC in fossil bones appears to be strongly dependent on the burial history and not simply on age. These results extend the range of protein preservation in the geologic record and provide a first step toward a molecular phylogeny of the dinosaurs.




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