Resistant ultralaminae in soils

Observation of a chemically resistant organic residue from maize crop soils by transmission electron microscopy reveals the occurrence of thin laminae with 10–50 nm thickness, similar to resistant, highly aliphatic biopolymers found in kerogens and microbes. This discovery shows evidence for a novel and alternative mode of formation of soil organic matter by selective preservation of resistant biopolymers from soil microbes, in addition to the classical recondensation pathway proposed by the French chemist Maillard in 1917.