Variability in the preservation of the isotopic composition of collagen from fossil bone

Journal Article · Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1988 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(88)90364-X· OSTI ID:5152588

Tuross, N; Fogel, M L; Hare, P E ^[1]

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1. Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC (USA)

Collagen from bone was prepared by several methods. For modern and well-preserved bone the {delta}{sup 13}C and {delta}{sup 15}N of collagen replicas obtained after HCl or EDTA demineralization were similar to those obtained with a gelatinization procedure. However, in more poorly preserved fossil bone the {delta}{sup 13}C and {delta}{sup 15}N varied among the different protein extracts. The yield of collagen obtained with EDTA demineralization was consistently higher than extraction procedures that used HCl. The {delta}{sup 13}C of individual amino acids separated from the collagen of modern and fossil whale bone varied up to 17{per thousand}, and the {delta}{sup 15}N from the same amino acids ranged over 47{per thousand}. The {delta}{sup 13}C and {delta}{sup 15}N of most amino acids clustered closely to the average of the HCl insoluble collagen. The {delta}{sup 13}C of the major amino acid in collagen, glycine, differed from the average HCl insoluble collagen by approximately 8{per thousand} in the fossil whale and 14{per thousand} in the modern whale. The {delta}{sup 15}N of glycine differed from the average HCl insoluble values by approximately 4{per thousand} in the fossil whale and 7{per thousand} in the modern whale. Thus, diagenetic changes that alter the ratio of glycine to other amino acids in bone can be expected to perturb the values for carbon and nitrogen isotopes.

• OSTI ID: 5152588
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (USA), Vol. 52:4; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
BONE TISSUES
COLLAGEN
DEMINERALIZATION
GEOCHEMISTRY
ISOTOPE RATIO
CARBON 13
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DIAGENESIS
DISSOLUTION
GLYCINE
HYDROCHLORIC ACID
NITROGEN 15
SKELETON
VARIATIONS
AMINO ACIDS
ANIMAL TISSUES
BODY
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHEMISTRY
CONNECTIVE TISSUE
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NITROGEN ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PROTEINS
SCLEROPROTEINS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STABLE ISOTOPES
TISSUES
580000* - Geosciences