The phrase "a precursor of a" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing something that comes before or leads to another thing, often in a developmental or evolutionary context.
Example: "The discovery of DNA was a precursor of a new era in genetic research."
Alternatives: "a forerunner of a" or "an antecedent of a".
Many experts see the swift cutback in hours as a precursor of a more painful chapter to come: broader layoffs.
Such efforts are a precursor of a larger engagement in international issues in both teaching and research.
A precursor of a conning tower fitted with a glass-covered porthole permitted observation from within the craft.
And Nadar's portrait of Eugène Pelletan, a critic, seems like a precursor of a Hollywood portrait of a handsome, slightly dangerous leading man.
Defibrillators are implanted in about 100,000 people a year to control irregular heartbeat, which is often a precursor of a heart attack.
It is displaying a design study in Detroit called the SUT (for sport utility truck), a precursor of a production model to go on sale in 2005.
However, biotin is involved in carboxylation reactions, some of which are involved in nitrogen metabolism, such as the reactions catalyzed by urea carboxylase or pyruvate carboxylase (generating oxaloacetate, a precursor of a-ketoglutarate and aspartic acid).
PARIS — A black leather dress, short, sharp and streamlined, opened the Celine show on Monday, a precursor of an army of strong clothes with a linear cut and a military feel.
It's possible that the dip in confidence is a precursor of an actual pullback in spending that would, in turn, push economic growth down.
Thermolysin is used in industry, especially for the enzymatic synthesis of N-carbobenzoxy l-Asp-l-Phe methyl ester (ZDFM), a precursor of an artificial sweetener, aspartame.
Although the Maastricht treaty explicitly guarantees the European Central Bank's independence, a "stability council" of finance ministers will, the French hope, act as a political counterweight even a precursor of an economic government for Europe.This could prove thoroughly controversial.
