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Ultrastructural Approaches to the Microfossil Record: Assessing Biological Affinities by Use of Transmission Electron Microscopy

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Quantifying the Evolution of Early Life

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 36))

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Abstract

One of the major technological advances in biological research was the invention and development of the transmission electron microscope, which enables high resolution and high magnification studies of cross-sections of specimens. As such, it has proved to be a useful tool to describe ultrastructural features of taxonomic and phylogenetic importance in modern organisms. Here we discuss how to extend the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to the fossil record, with emphasis on acritarchs (organic-walled microfossils of unknown affinity). Microfossils are traditionally studied by use of transmitted light microscopy, a method that reveals details of external morphology only. TEM however, gives an additional level of detail and reveals structures that can greatly aid in interpretation of taxonomic affinity, and thus can reveal further detail on the origination and diversification of myriad eukaryotic groups in the fossil record. In this chapter we describe the preparation procedure, show advantages and shortcomings of the technique, and discuss how to interpret the results from a geobiological perspective.

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Acknowledgments

Gary Wife, Anette Axén and Stefan Gunnarsson at the Microscopy and Imaging unit at EBC, Uppsala University, are thanked for their expertise regarding preparing and sectioning the samples and microscope work. Margaret Coughling at the Harvard Medical School provided help and inspiration to PAC in developing a new preparation method and provided help and advice with microtoming.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden

    Sebastian Willman

  2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Phoebe A. Cohen

  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NASA Astrobiology Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Phoebe A. Cohen

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  1. Sebastian Willman
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  2. Phoebe A. Cohen
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Correspondence to Sebastian Willman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellow, Departm, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum, Washington, 20013-7012, Washington, USA

    Marc Laflamme

  2. , Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Derring Hall 4044, Blacksburg, 24061, Virginia, USA

    James D. Schiffbauer

  3. , Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, 53201-0413, Wisconsin, USA

    Stephen Q. Dornbos

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Willman, S., Cohen, P.A. (2011). Ultrastructural Approaches to the Microfossil Record: Assessing Biological Affinities by Use of Transmission Electron Microscopy. In: Laflamme, M., Schiffbauer, J., Dornbos, S. (eds) Quantifying the Evolution of Early Life. Topics in Geobiology, vol 36. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0680-4_12

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