Nuclei and nucleoli in embryo-like fossils from the Ediacaran Weng’an Biota

摘要

Highlights?Weng’an Biota embryo-like fossils among oldest credible claims of animals but contentious.?Using synchrotron tomography we test interpretations of subcellular structures.?Through cell division, large intracellular structures scale with cell volume.?Comparisons to living cells support interpretation as preserved nuclei and nucleoli.?We reject spurious claims that nuclei cannot be fossilised.AbstractThe embryo-like microfossils from the Ediacaran Weng’an Biota (ca. 609 million years old) are among the oldest plausible claims of animals in the fossil record. Fossilization frequently extends beyond the cellular, to preserve subcellular structures including contentious Large Intracellular Structures (LISs) that have been alternately interpreted as eukaryote nuclei or organelles, degraded remains, or abiolo