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Sci Rep

Title:		Remarkable preservation of terpenoids and record of volatile signalling in plant-animal interactions from Miocene amber
Author(s):		Dutta S; Mehrotra RC; Paul S; Tiwari RP; Bhattacharya S; Srivastava G; Ralte VZ; Zoramthara C;
Address:		"Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India. s.dutta@iitb.ac.in. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, 226007, India. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India. Department of Geology, Mizoram University, Aizawl, 796004, India. Dr. H. S. Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar, 470003, Madhya Pradesh, India"
Journal Title:		Sci Rep
Year:		2017
Volume:		20170908
Issue:		1
Page Number:		10940 -
DOI:		10.1038/s41598-017-09385-w
ISSN/ISBN:		2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Plants produce and release a large array of volatile organic compounds that play many ecological functions. These volatile plant metabolites serve as pollinator attractants, herbivore and pathogen repellents and protect plants from abiotic stresses. To date, the geological evolution of these organic compounds remains unknown. The preservation potential of these metabolites in the fossil record is very poor due to their low boiling points. Here we report a series of volatile sesquiterpenoids, including delta-elemene, alpha-copaene, beta-elemene, beta-caryophyllene, alpha-humulene, germacrene D, delta-cadiene and spathunenol, from early Miocene (~17 million year) amber from eastern India. The survival of these unaltered bioterpenoids can be attributed to the existence of extraordinary taphonomic conditions conducive to the preservation of volatile biomolecules through deep time. Furthermore, the occurrence of these volatiles in the early Miocene amber suggests that the plants from this period had evolved metabolic pathways to synthesize these organic molecules to play an active role in forest ecology, especially in plant-animal interactions"
Keywords:		Amber/*chemistry Animals Biodiversity Forests Geologic Sediments/chemistry *Plant Physiological Phenomena Sesquiterpenes/*chemistry Signal Transduction;
Notes:		"MedlineDutta, Suryendu Mehrotra, Rakesh C Paul, Swagata Tiwari, R P Bhattacharya, Sharmila Srivastava, Gaurav Ralte, V Z Zoramthara, C eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2017/09/10 Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 8; 7(1):10940. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-09385-w"