PROTEIN SURVIVAL AND PROTEIN DEGRADATION: LIMITS AND APPLICATIONS

Proteins have widespread use in archaeology and Quaternary Geoscience. They are widely used for isotopic analysis and radiometric dating, the kinetics of their degradation (mainly racemization) have been used a geochronometer and their sequence has been used (at least in Recent organisms) to reconstruct phylogenies. We have been trying to integrate these different strands to provide a comprehensive picture of the key processes involved in protein degradation and in analysis and recovery. In honour of this session dedicated to Glenn Goodfriend we will attempt to review the pathway of decomposition which occurs as soon as the protein has been synthesised and illustrated how the different stages of decomposition can be exploited. In addition we intend to illuminate the important and (hitherto largely ignored role) played by protein decomposition from synthesis to burial in the geosphere. The value of amino acid racemization and mass-spectrometry as key tools in the analysis of protein decomposition will be discussed.