Biomarkers in Paleozoic Echinoderms

Organic molecules have been extracted directly from Paleozoic (Mississippian) crinoids (O'Malley, 2006, 2008). These Paleozoic biomarker molecules were isolated from Lower Mississippian crinoids that have retained some color differentiation as fossilized remains.

We hypothesize that it is the unique calcite mesodermal skeleton with stereomic microstructure that is responsible for preservation of these ancient biomarkers. All echinoderms possess similar skeletons, so if our hypothesis is correct, other ancient echinoderms should also preserve biomarkers. To test this hypothesis, other echinoderm classes are studied.

Similar color differentiation is observed in other Echinoderm taxa, including: Asteroidea, Blastoidea, Diplopora, Echinoidea, and Edrioasteroidea. Preliminary analyses indicate that biomarker molecules are preserved in specimens representing these classes as analyzed by ultraviolet visible light spectroscopy and fluorescence. We separated and further purified these substances using reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Using excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy, these molecules were tentatively identified as “quinone-like” based upon the EEMs derived from pure quinone standards.