Three-dimensional visualization of fossil flowers, fruits, seeds, and other plant remains using synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM): new insights into Cretaceous plant diversity
The application of synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) to the study of mesofossils of Cretaceous age has created new possibilities for the three-dimensional visualization and analysis of the external and internal structure of critical plant fossil material as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract:
The application of synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) to the study of mesofossils of Cretaceous age has created new possibilities for the three-dimensional visualization and analysis of the external and internal structure of critical plant fossil material. SRXTM provides cellular and subcellular resolution of comparable or higher quality to that obtained from permineralized material using thin sections or the peel technique. SRXTM also has the advantage of being non-destructive and results in the rapid acquisition of large quantities of data in digital form. SRXTM thus refocuses the effort of the investigator from physical preparation to the digital post-processing of X-ray tomographic data, which allows great flexibility in the reconstruction, visualization, and analysis of the internal and external structure of fossil material in multiple planes and in two or three dimensions. A review of recent applications in paleobotany demonstrates that SRXTM will dramatically expand the level of information available for diverse fossil plants. Future refinement of SRXTM approaches that further increases resolution and eases digital post-processing, will transform the study of mesofossils and create new possibilities for advancing paleobotanical knowledge. We illustrate these points using a variety of Cretaceous mesofossils, highlighting in particular those cases where SRXTM has been essential for resolving critical structural details that have enhanced systematic understanding and improved phylogenetic interpretations.
TL;DR: High-definition (spectral) imaging appears as the main driving force of the current trend for new synchrotron techniques for research on cultural and natural heritage materials.
TL;DR: This work constitutes an innovative quantitative use of X-ray in-line phase tomography as a non-destructive fast method to perform virtual histology and extends the developmental stages accessible by this technique which had previously been applied in seed biology to more mature samples.
TL;DR: It is expected that automated seed phenotyping on a single-seed basis can contribute valuable information for applications in a wide range of wild or crop species, including seed classification, seed sorting, and assessment of seed quality.
TL;DR: The developing knowledge of the composition of early land-based ecosystems and the interactions among their various components is contributing to the understanding of how life on land affects key Earth Systems (e.g. carbon cycle).
TL;DR: The discovery of embryos and their associated nutrient storage tissues in exceptionally well-preserved angiosperm seeds from the Early Cretaceous support hypotheses based on extant plants that tiny embryos and seed dormancy are basic for angiosperms as a whole.
TL;DR: The proposed method uses the properties of wavelets to localize the Radon transform and can be used to reconstruct a local region of the cross section of a body, using almost completely local data that significantly reduces the amount of exposure and computations in X-ray tomography.
TL;DR: Mauldinia mirabilis is the first unequivocal documentation of Lauraceae from the Cretaceous and provides further evidence for considerable diversity among magnoliid dicotyledons at an early phase in angiosperm diversification.
TL;DR: The most unexpected result of this study of Early Cretaceous flowers from Portugal is the presence of several epigynous forms at this early stage of angiosperm evolution.
TL;DR: This work represents a crucial improvement of previous methods, allowing new directions of research to be undertaken in areas ranging from morphology to systems biology.
Q1. What have the authors contributed in "Three-dimensional visualization of fossil flowers, fruits, seeds, and other plant remains using synchrotron radiation x-ray tomographic microscopy (srxtm): new insights into cretaceous plant diversity" ?
The application of synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy ( SRXTM ) to the study of mesofossils of Cretaceous age has created new possibilities for the three-dimensional visualization and analysis of the external and internal structure of critical plant fossil material. Future refinement of SRXTM approaches that further increases resolution and eases digital post-processing, will transform the study of mesofossils and create new possibilities for advancing paleobotanical knowledge. The authors illustrate these points using a variety of Cretaceous mesofossils, highlighting in particular those cases where SRXTM has been essential for resolving critical structural details that have enhanced systematic understanding and improved phylogenetic interpretations.
Q2. What future works have the authors mentioned in the paper "Three-dimensional visualization of fossil flowers, fruits, seeds, and other plant remains using synchrotron radiation x-ray tomographic microscopy (srxtm): new insights into cretaceous plant diversity" ?
SRXTM has already been informative where it has been deployed in paleobotany, but the full possibilities of these techniques are still relatively underexplored. The combination of SRXTM with the availability of a large numbers of diverse and well-preserved specimens offers the possibility of a new phase of rapid progress in their understanding of Cretaceous and other fossil plants. In many cases, the critical details revealed by the application of SRXTM have created opportunities to compare the fine structure of fossils with those of extant taxa, raising the possibility of also using SRXTM to study complex 3-D structures in living plants. This kind of material requires higher energies, and particularly for larger specimens where lateral merging and vertical stacking is required the acquisition time may be extensive.