Understanding fossilization: Experimental pyritization of plants

Grimes, Stephen T., Brock, F., Rickard, David Terence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4632-5711, Davies, Kevin L., Edwards, Dianne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9786-4395, Briggs, D.E.G. and Parkes, Ronald John 2001. Understanding fossilization: Experimental pyritization of plants. Geology -Boulder- 29 (2) , pp. 123-126. 10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0123:UFEPOP>2.0.CO;2

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Abstract

The process of fossilization is poorly understood. However, it is central to our understanding of the evolution of life. It is unclear how plant tissues become fossilized, whether fossilization is selective to specific biopolymers, or whether original organic constituents survive. We have replicated the fossilization process in the laboratory by using both microbial and chemical approaches to pyritize plant debris. These results demonstrate that initial pyritization can be an extremely rapid process (within 80 days) and is driven by anaerobic bacterial-mediated decay. Initially, pyrite precipitates on and within plant cell walls and in the spaces between them. Further decay and infilling at all scales preserves broad cellular anatomy. The results have implications for fossilization in general and the fidelity of the taxonomic and biomolecular information preserved in fossils.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QE Geology Q Science > QR Microbiology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Pyrite ; Plant ; Fossil; Synthesis.
Publisher:	Geological Society of America
ISSN:	0091-7613
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2022 11:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/8633

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