Fig. 2: Nickel-specific enrichment in intracellular inclusions.
From: Intracellular bound chlorophyll residues identify 1 Gyr-old fossils as eukaryotic algae
a, g Microphotographs of the studied specimen. b–f Fe and Ni SR-μXRF maps obtained at SLS (b, c pixel: 1 μm, 200 ms/px), at SS (d, e pixel: 400 nm, 100 ms/px) and, the associate composite image (f, R: Fe, B: Ni). These maps show a specific enrichment of Ni uncorrelated of Fe in the intracellular inclusions (ICI) while the walls appear homogeneously enriched in Fe and Ni. h–j Fe and Ni SR-μXRF maps obtained at SLS (h, i pixel: 1 μm, 1 s/px) and the associated composite image (j, R: Fe, B: Ni). These maps show that some ICIs can also be enriched in Fe, but that Fe is present as small hotspots in the ICI while Ni is mainly homogeneously distributed. Color scales correspond to normalized counts. (s.) is for sulfides and (fl.) is for fluorides attached to the surface of the fossils.
