Dean, M Christopher;
Garrevoet, Jan;
Van Malderen, Stijn JM;
Santos, Frederic;
Lahr, Marta Mirazon;
Foley, Robert;
Le Cabec, Adeline;
(2023)
The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy.
Biology
, 12
, Article 1455. 10.3390/biology12121455.
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Abstract
Zinc is incorporated into enamel, dentine and cementum during tooth growth. This work aimed to distinguish between the processes underlying Zn incorporation and Zn distribution. These include different mineralisation processes, the physiological events around birth, Zn ingestion with diet, exposure to the oral environment during life and diagenetic changes to fossil teeth post-mortem. Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence (SXRF) was used to map zinc distribution across longitudinal polished ground sections of both deciduous and permanent modern human, great ape and fossil hominoid teeth. Higher resolution fluorescence intensity maps were used to image Zn in surface enamel, secondary dentine and cementum, and at the neonatal line (NNL) and enamel–dentine–junction (EDJ) in deciduous teeth. Secondary dentine was consistently Zn-rich, but the highest concentrations of Zn (range 197–1743 ppm) were found in cuspal, mid-lateral and cervical surface enamel and were similar in unerupted teeth never exposed to the oral environment. Zinc was identified at the NNL and EDJ in both modern and fossil deciduous teeth. In fossil specimens, diagenetic changes were identified in various trace element distributions but only demineralisation appeared to markedly alter Zn distribution. Zinc appears to be tenacious and stable in fossil tooth tissues, especially in enamel, over millions of years.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy |
| Location: | Switzerland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/biology12121455 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology12121455 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Biology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics, trace elements, neonatal line, enamel, SXRF, enamel thickness, mineralisation process, COMPARATIVE DENTAL DEVELOPMENT, X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE, TRACE-ELEMENT, BURIAL SITE, ENAMEL MINERALIZATION, ALKALINE-PHOSPHATASE, AMUD-CAVE, ES-SKHUL, TEETH, BONE |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197485 |
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