Ancient protein

Ancient proteins are the remains of proteins which persist in the archaeological and fossil record. They are studied by a branch of molecular palaeontology, ancient protein research.

The history of ancient proteins studies

In 1955, Philip Abelson published a short paper[1] that laid out what has become, through several cycles of technical advances, the field of palaeoproteomics or ancient protein research. He was the first to propose that amino acids, and therefore proteins, were present in a fossil bone millions of years old which gave clues about the evolution of very early life forms on our planet. Only a few years later, Hare and Abelson (1968) conducted another pioneering analysis on shells and found out that amino acids degrade or change their internal L to D configuration progressively over time, and that this could thus be used as dating tool, in what is called amino acid dating or amino acid racemization.[2] This dating approach was later shown to be a very capable tool for dating periods extending further back than the limits of radiocarbon at ca. 50.000 years[3].

Palaeoproteomics

Palaeoproteomics[4] is an emerging neologism used to describe the application of mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches to the study of ancient proteomes. As with palaeogenomics (the study of ancient DNA, aDNA), it intersects evolutionary biology, archaeology and anthropology, with applications ranging from the phylogenetic reconstruction of extinct species to the investigation of past human diets and ancient diseases.

References

  1. ↑ Abelson, Philip (1955). Paleobiochemistry: organic constituents of fossils. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Yearbook, No. 54. pp. 107–109.
  2. ↑ Hare, P.E.; Abelson, P.H. (1968). "Racemization of amino acids in fossil shells". Carnegie Inst. Wash. Yearb. 66: 526–528.
  3. ↑ Penkman, Kirsty (2010-05-01). "Amino acid geochronology: its impact on our understanding of the Quaternary stratigraphy of the British Isles". Journal of Quaternary Science. 25 (4): 501–514. Bibcode:2010JQS....25..501P. doi:10.1002/jqs.1346. ISSN 1099-1417.
  4. ↑ Cappellini, Enrico; Collins, Matthew J.; Gilbert, M. Thomas P. (2014-03-21). "Unlocking Ancient Protein Palimpsests". Science. 343 (6177): 1320–1322. Bibcode:2014Sci...343.1320C. doi:10.1126/science.1249274. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 24653025.
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