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Reply to: Sources of C30 steroid biomarkers in Neoproterozoic–Cambrian rocks and oils

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 37–39 (2020)Cite this article

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The Original Article was published on 25 November 2019

replying to G. D. Love et al. Nature Ecology & Evolution https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1048-2 (2019)

Tracing the timing of animal radiation presents an important challenge in geobiology that some geochemists have approached using putative sponge diagnostic biomarkers1,2,3. We have recently shown that rhizarian protists contain precursors to both known ‘sponge biomarkers’ (24-isopropylcholestane (24-ipc) and 26-methylstigmastane (26-mes)), thereby negating their diagnosticity for early animals4. Love and colleagues, supporters of a sponge interpretation1,2, criticize these findings5.

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Fig. 1: C30 steroids in Rhizaria.

Data availability

All relevant data are shown in Fig. 1. Chlorarachniophytes can be sourced from the Bigelow NCMA culture collection (https://ncma.bigelow.org/cms/index/index/: CCMP 239, 3166 and 2755).

References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany

    Christian Hallmann & Benjamin J. Nettersheim

  2. MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Christian Hallmann, Benjamin J. Nettersheim, Christiane Schmidt, Karin Zonneveld & Michal Kucera

  3. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Jochen J. Brocks, Janet M. Hope, Patrick De Deckker & Ilya Bobrovskiy

  4. Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCentre Linnean Centre for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    Arne Schwelm

  5. Adaptation and Diversity in Marine Environment (AD2M), Laboratory Ecology of Marine Plankton team Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR7144, Roscoff, France

    Fabrice Not

  6. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, USA

    Michael Lomas

  7. Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany

    Ralf Schiebel

  8. Department of Biology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany

    Eva C. M. Nowack

  9. Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jan Pawlowski

  10. Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA

    Samuel S. Bowser

  11. Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Biogeochemistry and Geology, Bremen, Germany

    Marleen Stuhr

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  1. Christian Hallmann
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Contributions

C.H., B.J.N., I.B. and J.J.B. wrote the reply with input from A.S., J.M.H., F.N., M.L., C.S., R.S., E.C.M.N., P.D.D., J.P., S.S.B., K.Z., M.K. and M.S.

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Correspondence to Christian Hallmann or Benjamin J. Nettersheim.

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Hallmann, C., Nettersheim, B.J., Brocks, J.J. et al. Reply to: Sources of C30 steroid biomarkers in Neoproterozoic–Cambrian rocks and oils. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 37–39 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1049-1

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