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Strong chemical interaction between bacterial surface protein layers and calcium atoms deposited in situ on top was revealed by means of photoemission spectroscopy. The interaction appears to mainly happen at the oxygen site of the peptide bonds and involves a large charge transfer from Ca 4s states into the peptide backbone. Chemical kinetics of this reaction was characterized using time-dependent valence band photoemission, and the reaction rate constant was determined.

Sponges are probably the earliest branching animals, and their fossil record dates back to the Precambrian. Identifying their skeletal structure and composition is thus a crucial step in improving our understanding of the early evolution of metazoans. Here, we present the discovery of 505–million-year-old chitin, found in exceptionally well preserved Vauxia gracilenta sponges from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Our new findings indicate that, given the right fossilization conditions, chitin is stable for much longer than previously suspected. The preservation of chitin in these fossils opens new avenues for research into other ancient fossil groups.

International audience; This work demonstrates that chitin is an important structural component within the skeletal fibers of the freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris. Using a variety of analytical techniques (13 C solid state NMR, FT-IR, Raman, NEXAFS, ESI-MS, Morgan-Elson assay and Calcofluor White Staining); we show that this sponge chitin is much closer to a-chitin, known to be present in other animals, than to b-chitin. Genetic analysis confirmed the presence of chitin synthases, which are described for the first time in a sponge. The presence of chitin in both marine (demosponges and hexactinellids) and freshwater sponges indicates that this important structural biopolymer was already present in their common ancestor.