Biomarkers helped solving the mystery of 500-million-year-old macroorganisms

(Lomonosov Moscow State University) A postgraduate student of the Faculty of Geology of MSU, working with an international scientific group, participated in chemical analysis of biomarkers -- compounds that remained after the decomposition of organic remains of the genus Beltanelliformis. These organisms populated the Earth in the Ediacaran period (about 575-541 million years ago), and their position on the evolutionary tree was unknown. The obtained data showed that Beltanelliformis were colonies of cyanobacteria.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news