研究人员在距今6600万年的埃德蒙顿龙骶骨化石中首次检测到保存完好的胶原蛋白残留物，这一发现推翻了化石化过程会摧毁原始有机分子的长期假设1。这具来自南达科他州地狱溪地层的恐龙骨化石重达22公斤，利物浦大学和加州大学洛杉矶分校的研究团队采用质谱法和蛋白质测序等先进分析技术进行了深入分析1。
团队的关键发现是在化石骨中首次检测到羟脯氨酸这一特异于骨中胶原蛋白的氨基酸，确认了降解胶原蛋白的存在1。利物浦大学教授史蒂夫·泰勒表示："我们的结果具有深远的影响。首先，它驳斥了在化石中发现的任何有机物必定源于污染的假设。"1该研究已发表在2025年《分析化学》期刊第97卷第5期上1，为古生物学家研究恐龙生物学和进化提供了新的分子证据1。
Researchers have identified well-preserved collagen residues in a 66-million-year-old Edmontosaurus sacrum fossil, overturning long-held assumptions that fossilization destroys original organic molecules.1 The specimen, weighing 22 kilograms, was recovered from Hell Creek Formation rock layers in South Dakota's Upper Cretaceous deposits.1
Using advanced analytical techniques including mass spectrometry and protein sequencing, the research team detected hydroxyproline—an amino acid specific to bone collagen—for the first time in fossilized bone material, confirming the presence of degraded collagen.1 The findings were published in Analytical Chemistry in May 2025, Volume 97, Issue 5 (DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c03115), with contributions from researchers at the University of Liverpool and UCLA.1
Professor Steve Taylor emphasized the significance of the discovery, stating: "Our results have profound implications. First, they refute the assumption that any organic material found in fossils must originate from contamination."1 The preservation of molecular evidence offers new opportunities for investigating dinosaur biology and evolution through biochemical analysis.
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