Morphological record of oxygenic photosynthesis in conical stromatolites
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Conical stromatolites are thought to be robust indicators of the presence of photosynthetic and phototactic microbes in aquatic environments as early as 3.5 billion years ago. However, phototaxis alone cannot explain the ubiquity of disrupted, curled, and contorted laminae in the crests of many Mesoproterozoic, Paleoproterozoic, and some Archean conical stromatolites. Here, we demonstrate that cyanobacterial production of oxygen in the tips of modern conical aggregates creates contorted laminae and submillimeter-to-millimeter-scale enmeshed bubbles. Similarly sized fossil bubbles and contorted laminae may be present only in the crestal zones of some conical stromatolites 2.7 billion years old or younger. This implies not only that cyanobacteria built Proterozoic conical stromatolites but also that fossil bubbles may constrain the timing of the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis.
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Light organic carbon isotopes and structures like those made by filamentous cyanobacteria found within stromatolites or other microbially induced sedimentary structures are consistent with cyanobacteria by 3.2 to 2.7 Ga ago.
“Light organic carbon isotopes and structures like those made by filamentous cyanobacteria found within stromatolites or other microbially induced sedimentary structures are consistent with cyanobacteria by 3.2 to 2.7 Ga ago (91–94).”
From The Archean atmosphere (2020) · cites this paper as [92]
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- Authors
- Bosak, T., Liang, B., Sim, M. S., & Petroff, A. P.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2009-07-07
- Volume
- 106
- Issue
- 27
- Pages
- 10939-10943
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC2708726
- OpenAlex
- W1973783566
- Cited by
- 166
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 5.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Funders
- Princeton University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Geological formations and processes
- Keywords
- oxygenic photosynthesis, cyanobacteria, phototaxis, Proterozoic, Archean, evolution of photosynthesis, microbial mats
- MeSH terms
- Archaea, Fossils, Oxygen, Photosynthesis, Geologic Sediments
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