Palaeogenomics of the Hydrocarbon Producing Microalga Botryococcus braunii

Area of Science:

• Paleontology
• Microbiology
• Geochemistry

Background:

• Botryococcus braunii microfossils are crucial paleoenvironmental proxies found in the fossil record.
• Palaeozoic Botryococcus fossils are linked to geolipids in oil shales, but this association is absent in Holocene sediments.
• Morphological identification of Holocene Botryococcus is prone to misclassification, impacting paleoenvironmental accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a precise method for identifying Botryococcus microfossils in Holocene sediments.
• To overcome the limitations of morphological identification in recent geological records.
• To enhance the accuracy of paleoenvironmental reconstructions using microfossil analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized flow cytometry for microfossil analysis.
• Employed ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing for unambiguous species identification.
• Combined flow cytometry and aDNA sequencing for high-resolution microfossil characterization.

Main Results:

• Achieved unparalleled accuracy and rapidity in identifying Botryococcus microfossils in Holocene sediments.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of aDNA sequencing in distinguishing Botryococcus from other microfossils.
• Established a reliable method for microfossil identification in recent sediments.

Conclusions:

• Ancient DNA sequencing offers a powerful tool for identifying microfossils in Holocene sediments.
• This technique significantly improves the accuracy of paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
• Integrating microfossil aDNA with other paleoenvironmental data (e.g., human and megafauna aDNA) provides deeper insights into past environments and migrations.