Tonian carbonaceous compressions indicate that Horodyskia is one of the oldest multicellular and coenocytic macro-organisms

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dc.contributor.authorLi, Guangjinen
dc.contributor.authorChen, Leien
dc.contributor.authorPang, Keen
dc.contributor.authorTang, Qingen
dc.contributor.authorWu, Chengxien
dc.contributor.authorYuan, Xunlaien
dc.contributor.authorZhou, Chuanmingen
dc.contributor.authorXiao, Shuhaien
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-29T14:46:54Zen
dc.date.available2023-08-29T14:46:54Zen
dc.date.issued2023-04en
dc.description.abstractMacrofossils with unambiguous biogenic origin and predating the one-billion-year-old multicellular fossils Bangiomorpha and Proterocladus interpreted as crown-group eukaryotes are quite rare. Horodyskia is one of these few macrofossils, and it extends from the early Mesoproterozoic Era to the terminal Ediacaran Period. The biological interpretation of this enigmatic fossil, however, has been a matter of controversy since its discovery in 1982, largely because there was no evidence for the preservation of organic walls. Here we report new carbonaceous compressions of Horodyskia from the Tonian successions (similar to 950-720 Ma) in North China. The macrofossils herein with bona fide organic walls reinforce the biogenicity of Horodyskia. Aided by the new material, we reconstruct Horodyskia as a colonial organism composed of a chain of organic-walled vesicles that likely represent multinucleated (coenocytic) cells of early eukaryotes. Two species of Horodyskia are differentiated on the basis of vesicle sizes, and their co-existence in the Tonian assemblage provides a link between the Mesoproterozoic (H. moniliformis) and the Ediacaran (H. minor) species. Our study thus provides evidence that eukaryotes have acquired macroscopic size through the combination of coenocytism and colonial multicellularity at least similar to 1.48 Ga, and highlights an exceptionally long range and morphological stasis of this Proterozoic macrofossils.en
dc.description.notesThis research was supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (2022YFF0802700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (42202008, 41921002, 42272005, 42192501, and 42272001), Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB26000000), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (20201102 and 213108), Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS (2021307), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M693243) and Taishan Scholars Project (tsqn201812069). S.X. was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (EAR-2021207). We would like to thank Nick Butterfield, Leigh Anne Riedman, and Veeru Kant Singh for constructive comments. Xiaofeng Xian, Yunpeng Sun, Lei Zhang, Shengong Zhang, Jing Fang, and Zhengqi Zhao are acknowledged for assistance in field work.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Key R&D Program of China [2022YFF0802700]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [42202008, 41921002, 42272005, 42192501, 42272001]; Chinese Academy of Sciences [XDB26000000]; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy [20201102, 213108]; Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS [2021307]; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2021M693243]; Taishan Scholars Project [tsqn201812069]; U.S. National Science Foundation [EAR-2021207]en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04740-2en
dc.identifier.eissn2399-3642en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.other399en
dc.identifier.pmid37046079en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/116159en
dc.identifier.volume6en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNature Portfolioen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectbedding-plane markingsen
dc.subjectearly evolutionen
dc.subjecttestate amebasen
dc.subjectforaminiferaen
dc.subjectsupergroupen
dc.subjectoriginsen
dc.subjectfossilsen
dc.subjectcomplexen
dc.subjectsuccessionsen
dc.subjecteukaryotesen
dc.titleTonian carbonaceous compressions indicate that Horodyskia is one of the oldest multicellular and coenocytic macro-organismsen
dc.title.serialCommunications Biologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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