LIFE INSIDE A DINOSAUR BONE: A THRIVING MICROBIOME

Discovery of preserved collagen peptides has been frequently reported in fossil dinosaur bones over million years old. While the preservation of ancient endogenous DNA from the fossil specimens remains unlikely, extant microbial community can colonize the bone after death. The goal of this study was to interrogate the diversity and function of microbial community associated with a Late Cretaceous subterranean dinosaur bone and adjacent mudstone that were freshly and aseptically excavated in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada.