Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors
Summary: Microbial communities reside at the interface between humans and their environment. Whether the microbiome can be leveraged to gain information on human interaction with museum objects is unclear. To investigate this, we selected objects from the Museum für Naturkunde and the Pergamonmuseum...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-09-01
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| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223016553 |
| _version_ | 1797740826966622208 |
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| author | Lukas M. Simon Cecilia Flocco Franziska Burkart Anika Methner David Henke Luise Rauer Christian L. Müller Johannes Vogel Christiane Quaisser Jörg Overmann Stefan Simon |
| author_facet | Lukas M. Simon Cecilia Flocco Franziska Burkart Anika Methner David Henke Luise Rauer Christian L. Müller Johannes Vogel Christiane Quaisser Jörg Overmann Stefan Simon |
| author_sort | Lukas M. Simon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Microbial communities reside at the interface between humans and their environment. Whether the microbiome can be leveraged to gain information on human interaction with museum objects is unclear. To investigate this, we selected objects from the Museum für Naturkunde and the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin, Germany, varying in material and size. Using swabs, we collected 126 samples from natural and cultural heritage objects, which were analyzed through 16S rRNA sequencing. By comparing the microbial composition of touched and untouched objects, we identified a microbial signature associated with human skin microbes. Applying this signature to cultural heritage objects, we identified areas with varying degrees of exposure to human contact on the Ishtar gate and Sam’al gate lions. Furthermore, we differentiated objects touched by two different individuals. Our findings demonstrate that the microbiome of museum objects provides insights into the level of human contact, crucial for conservation, heritage science, and potentially provenance research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T14:19:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb5a93230a854ffd807ff17bf72dea32 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T14:19:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb5a93230a854ffd807ff17bf72dea322023-08-20T04:38:28ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422023-09-01269107578Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitorsLukas M. Simon0Cecilia Flocco1Franziska Burkart2Anika Methner3David Henke4Luise Rauer5Christian L. Müller6Johannes Vogel7Christiane Quaisser8Jörg Overmann9Stefan Simon10Therapeutic Innovation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Corresponding authorDepartment of Microbial Ecology and Diversity Research, Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Microbial Ecology and Diversity Research, Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Microbial Ecology and Diversity Research, Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyMolecular Virology & Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAEnvironmental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg, 86156 Augsburg, Germany; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 86156 Augsburg, Germany; Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, GermanyInstitute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, GermanyMuseum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, 10115 Berlin, GermanyMuseum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, 10115 Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Microbial Ecology and Diversity Research, Leibniz-Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyRathgen-Forschungslabor, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, 14059 Berlin, Germany; Corresponding authorSummary: Microbial communities reside at the interface between humans and their environment. Whether the microbiome can be leveraged to gain information on human interaction with museum objects is unclear. To investigate this, we selected objects from the Museum für Naturkunde and the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin, Germany, varying in material and size. Using swabs, we collected 126 samples from natural and cultural heritage objects, which were analyzed through 16S rRNA sequencing. By comparing the microbial composition of touched and untouched objects, we identified a microbial signature associated with human skin microbes. Applying this signature to cultural heritage objects, we identified areas with varying degrees of exposure to human contact on the Ishtar gate and Sam’al gate lions. Furthermore, we differentiated objects touched by two different individuals. Our findings demonstrate that the microbiome of museum objects provides insights into the level of human contact, crucial for conservation, heritage science, and potentially provenance research.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223016553HumanNature conservationMicrobiome |
| spellingShingle | Lukas M. Simon Cecilia Flocco Franziska Burkart Anika Methner David Henke Luise Rauer Christian L. Müller Johannes Vogel Christiane Quaisser Jörg Overmann Stefan Simon Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors iScience Human Nature conservation Microbiome |
| title | Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors |
| title_full | Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors |
| title_fullStr | Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors |
| title_short | Microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects, curators, and visitors |
| title_sort | microbial fingerprints reveal interaction between museum objects curators and visitors |
| topic | Human Nature conservation Microbiome |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223016553 |
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