Maleimides (1H-pyrrole-2,5-diones) as molecular indicators of anoxygenic photosynthesis in ancient water columns

Maleimides (1H-pyrrole-7,5-diones), degradation products of photosynthetic tetrapyrrole pigments, have been found for the first time in the polar fraction of the solvent extracts of two marine sediments deposited in restricted basins: Kupferschiefer (Permian) and Serpiano shale (Mid-Triassic). GC and GC-MS analyses of the TBDMS (tertiary-butyldimethylsilyl) derivatives show a simple component distribution, dominated by Me Et maleimide, mainly of planktonic origin; Me n-Pr and Me i-Bu maleimides, present in low abundance, are thought on structural grounds to be derived from the bacteriochlorophylls c, d, or e of Chlorobiaceae (anoxygenic green sulfur bacteria). This is confirmed for Kupferschiefer by isotope ratio monitoring (irm) GCMS which shows them to be enriched in C-13 as a result of their photosynthetic carbon assimilation, which takes place by the reversed tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The structurally more specific Me i-Bu maleimide is, however, slightly more enriched in C-13 than Me n-Pr maleimide, suggesting that the latter is derived in part from reduction of the C-3-acid substituent at C-17 of phytoplanktonic chlorophyll. These results provide evidence for the existence in both depositional settings of microbial communities containing Chlorobiaceae. In turn, this indicates that there must have been periods when the water column was highly stratified and anoxia extended into the zone of light penetration.