Increasing control over biomineralization in conodont evolution
Shirley B, Leonhard I, Murdock DJ, Repetski J, Świś P, Bestmann M, Trimby P, Ohl M, Plümper O, King HE, Jarochowska E (2024)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2024
Journal
Book Volume: 15
Article Number: 5273
Journal Issue: 1
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49526-0
Abstract
Vertebrates use the phosphate mineral apatite in their skeletons, which allowed them to develop tissues such as enamel, characterized by an outstanding combination of hardness and elasticity. It has been hypothesized that the evolution of the earliest vertebrate skeletal tissues, found in the teeth of the extinct group of conodonts, was driven by adaptation to dental function. We test this hypothesis quantitatively and demonstrate that the crystallographic order increased throughout the early evolution of conodont teeth in parallel with morphological adaptation to food processing. With the c-axes of apatite crystals oriented perpendicular to the functional feeding surfaces, the strongest resistance to uniaxial compressional stress is conferred along the long axes of denticles. Our results support increasing control over biomineralization in the first skeletonized vertebrates and allow us to test models of functional morphology and material properties across conodont dental diversity.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Universität Wien / University of Vienna
Austria (AT)
University of Oxford
United Kingdom (GB)
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
United States (USA) (US)
University of Warsaw / Uniwersytet Warszawski
Poland (PL)
Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools Limited
United Kingdom (GB)
Universiteit Utrecht (UU) / Utrecht University
Netherlands (NL)
Austria (AT)
University of Oxford
United Kingdom (GB)
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
United States (USA) (US)
University of Warsaw / Uniwersytet Warszawski
Poland (PL)
Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools Limited
United Kingdom (GB)
Universiteit Utrecht (UU) / Utrecht University
Netherlands (NL)
How to cite
APA:
Shirley, B., Leonhard, I., Murdock, D.J., Repetski, J., Świś, P., Bestmann, M.,... Jarochowska, E. (2024). Increasing control over biomineralization in conodont evolution. Nature Communications, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49526-0
MLA:
Shirley, Bryan, et al. "Increasing control over biomineralization in conodont evolution." Nature Communications 15.1 (2024).
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