A time travel story: metagenomic analyses decipher the unknown geographical shift and the storage history of possibly smuggled antique marble statues

Guadalupe Piñar,Caroline Poyntner,Katja Sterflinger,Hakim Tafer

doi:10.1007/s13213-019-1446-3

Guadalupe Piñar, Caroline Poyntner + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13213-019-1446-3

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Abstract

In this study, three possibly smuggled marble statues of an unknown origin, two human torsi (a female and a male) and a small head, were subjected to molecular analyses. The aim was to reconstruct the history of the storage of each single statue, to infer the possible relationship among them, and to elucidate their geographical shift. A genetic strategy, comprising metagenomic analyses of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of prokaryotes, 18S rDNA of eukaryotes, as well as internal transcribed spacer regions of fungi, was performed by using the Ion Torrent sequencing platform. Results suggest a possible common history of storage of the two human torsi; their eukaryotic microbiomes showed similarities comprising many soil-inhabiting organisms, which may indicate storage or burial in land of agricultural soil. For the male torso, it was possible to infer the geographical origin, due to the presence of DNA traces of Taiwania, a tree found only in Asia. The small head displayed differences concerning the eukaryotic community, compared with the other two samples, but showed intriguing similarities with the female torso concerning the bacterial community. Both displayed many halotolerant and halophilic bacteria, which may indicate a longer stay in arid and semi-arid surroundings as well as marine environments. The microbiomes retrieved from each statue showed to be very specific, but some individual members showed to be biological markers for the geographical regions through which the pieces traveled and for the conditions under which they were stored.

Highlights

Each piece of art harbors a specific and absolute unique pile of information about its own history
Results derived from the eukaryotic DNA libraries revealed similarities between the two torsi (S1 and S2), both displaying a low biodiversity concerning the amount of detected phyla, namely Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Embryophyta (Fig. 2)
Our data showed the potential of the applied genetic strategy to answer interesting questions that may arise when dealing with cultural heritage objects and that may not be related with the state of conservation, but more with the history of the object

Summary

Introduction

Each piece of art harbors a specific and absolute unique pile of information about its own history. Nowadays, using high-throughput molecular methods, it is possible to extract and to analyze even smallest traces of DNA from an object, to amplify these fragments, to visualize, and by the help of bioinformatics and international databases, to assign single molecules of DNA to a certain plant, a bacterium, and a fungus or even to humans (Fu et al 2013). The ongoing scientific and technological progress has led to metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metabolomics, which are giving a more complete overview of the present microorganisms, their activity, and the expressed proteins and produced metabolites in a specific environment These state-of-the-art methodologies are developing at a very fast pace, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods are becoming applicable in the field of cultural heritage (Adamiak et al 2017, 2018), allowing to answer the two most basic questions in microbial ecology: Bwho is out there?^ and Bwhat are they doing?^

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