On the Interpretation of Fossil Nuclei

Abstract

Although organelle preservation in plant fossils is not novel and well-preserved plant mesofossils have contributed greatly to the understanding of plant evolution, subcellular structures are still a rarity in plant mesofossils. Although it is not easy to explore subcellular structures in plant fossils, related attempts are frequently seen. Among them, some false interpretation requires further inspection. To shed more light on this issue, here I studied Cretaceous charcoalified mesofossils from USA, using LM (light microscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) technologies. My conclusion shows that not all publications reflect the truthful existence of nuclei in plant fossils, and this study may provide a reference for the future research.