Amazing stuff! What about the Albert Einstein DNA project? Will we soon all be smart like da Vinci or Einstein?
"In a remarkable milestone in a decadelong odyssey, he and other members of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP), a global scientific collective, report in a paper posted today on bioRxiv that they have recovered DNA from Holy Child and other objects—and some may be from Leonardo himself. ...
The preprint concludes that Y chromosome sequences from the artwork and from a letter penned by a cousin of Leonardo both belong to a genetic grouping of people who share a common ancestor in Tuscany, where Leonardo was born. The data suggest the DNA on the artwork could be Leonardo’s, but it’s far from proof ..."
From the abstract:
"Cultural heritage objects can accumulate DNA from materials, environments, and repeated human contact, but biomolecular profiling of such items is constrained by nondestructive sampling requirements, ultra-low biomass, and high contamination risk.
Here we present a minimally invasive workflow that integrates gentle swab collection, low-input whole-metagenome sequencing, taxonomic profiling, and Y-chromosome analyses to recover “biological signatures of history” from Renaissance-era artwork and archival correspondence associated with ancestors of Leonardo da Vinci.
Across artifacts, we recovered heterogeneous mixtures of microbial and eukaryotic DNA (including bacteria, fungi, plants, and viruses) consistent with composite “biomes” that reflect differences in substrate, storage, conservation treatments, and handling. Multivariate comparisons show reproducible sample-to-sample separations.
In parallel, we assessed human Y-chromosome signal using a panel of ∼90,000 phylogenetically informative markers and partial Y-STR profiling where feasible. Across multiple independent swabs from Leonardo da Vinci-associated items, the obtained Y chromosome marker data suggested assignments within the broader E1b1/E1b1b clade. However, the control samples also indicate mixed contributions consistent with modern handling and other sources.
Together, these data demonstrate the feasibility as well as limitations of combining metagenomics and human DNA marker analysis for cultural heritage science, providing a baseline workflow for future conservation science studies and hypothesis-driven investigations of provenance, authentication and handling history."
Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project "The goal of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project is to conclusively determine if the remains purported to be those of Leonardo da Vinci at Amboise Castle are his, by comparing DNA profiles to those of known relatives. Further, we intend to use whole genome sequencing data from Leonardo’s remains to better understand his extraordinary talents and visual acuity through genetic associations. ..."
Fig. 1 Isolation and amplification of ancient DNA from art obtained by the double-swab technique.
Fig. 2 Distinct biome profiles are present in ancient cultural artifacts.
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