Resistant biopolymers are non-hydrolyzable and fossilizable macromolecular organic compounds present in many microalgal cell walls and fossil palynomorphs.
Previous descriptions of dinosporin having similar properties to sporopollenin were based on both compounds’ resistance to hydrolysis and high preservation potential.
A recent study has suggested that dinosporin present in cysts of Lingulodinium polyedrum does not contain significant amounts of long chain aliphatics, nor is it primarily aromatic, but that it is a highly crosslinked carbohydrate-based polymer.
For example, the macromolecular composition of the fossil dinoflagellate cyst Thalassiphora pelagica was analyzed, but post-mortem alteration was noted.
Recent Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) work shows both differences and similarities between the major dinocyst lineages, which are suggested to be related to nutritional strategies.