GoKawiilCambridge study links microbial enzymes to gaps in soft-tissue fossil record
Researchers led by the University of Cambridge propose that the evolution of microbes producing collagen-eating enzymes, called collagenases, explains why detailed soft-bodied fossils are common from the late Ediacaran Period but rare afterward. Collagen gives structure to animal tissue, and once these microbes evolved, they could rapidly break down dead organisms' tissue before it had a chance to fossilise. The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
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The hypothesis could resolve a long-standing puzzle about why Ediacaran-era 'bags of goo' were preserved in extraordinary detail while later soft-bodied creatures largely vanished from the fossil record, offering an alternative to theories about ocean chemistry or microbial mats. If confirmed, it would suggest that the history of decomposition itself, not just preservation conditions, shaped what paleontologists can know about early animal evolution. This reframes the fossil record as reflecting biological co-evolution between decomposers and the organisms they break down, rather than just geological happenstance.
- Late Ediacaran fossils (579-539 million years ago) show unusually detailed soft-tissue preservation despite lacking hard body parts.
- Cambridge-led researchers suggest the rise of collagenase-producing microbes after this period explains the later decline in soft-tissue fossils.
- The study, published in Current Biology, offers a biological alternative to prior theories involving ocean chemistry or microbial mats.
Source: cam.ac.uk, 2026-10-20
Published there as: “Rise of collagen-eating microbes may help explain gaps in the fossil record”
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