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Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his elaborate and nuanced works of art and advanced technological ideas. But new research has revealed another level of complexity to his designs: a hidden world of tiny life forms on his artwork.
The findings, the researchers said, could help build a “catalog” of microbiomes for the artwork. Each of the pieces had a collection of microbes that was unique enough that researchers could later identify it again purely from a study of its microscopic biology.
And the microbiomes of the designs had enough key elements in common to help researchers spot counterfeits based on differences in their microbiomes, or even authentic designs that had been preserved in different conditions over the centuries.
The researchers also showed that Da Vinci’s designs had a significantly different microbiome than expected, with many bacteria and human DNA, likely a consequence of centuries of manipulation by art restorers and others.
There were also microbes known to degrade paper over time, demonstrating why those restorers’ efforts had been necessary.
The study amounts to a proof-of-concept exercise, showing how microbiomes could, in the future, reveal unexpected stories of certain works of art or help detect forgery.
The researchers examined the microscopic biological material, living and dead, in seven of the master’s “emblematic” drawings and found an unexpected diversity of bacteria, fungi and human DNA.
Most of that material probably ended up in sketches well after Da Vinci’s death 501 years ago, so the DNA (or at least most of it) probably comes from other people who have handled the designs over the centuries and not. by the polymath itself. But the biological materials found have a story to tell.
The biggest surprise, the researchers wrote, was the high concentration of bacteria in the drawings, especially compared to fungi.
Previous studies have shown that fungi tend to dominate the microbiomes of paper objects such as these drawings, but, in this case, there was an unusually high amount of human bacteria and insects (likely flies that pooped on the paper).
“Overall, the insects, the restorers and the geographic location all appear to have left an invisible trace on the drawings,” the researchers said in a statement.
“[But] it is difficult to say if any of these contaminants come from the time when Leonardo da Vinci was drawing his drawings “.
Most of that DNA probably came from people who restored the work starting in the 15th century. The team did not analyze the genetic material in the level of detail necessary to see who in particular it might come from.
The researchers used a new tool called Nanopore, a genetic sequencing method that breaks down and analyzes genetic material rapidly, to carry out detailed study of different biological materials.
The same researchers have studied artistic microbiomes in the past to determine how statues recovered by smugglers had been preserved while hidden. Going forward, they said, this technique could reveal new details of even well-researched artwork stories.
The study was published November 20 in the journal Frontiers in microbiology.
This article was originally published by Live Science. Read the original article here.
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