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Begg TJA, Schmidt A, Kocher A, Larmuseau MHD, Runfeldt G, Maier PA, Wilson JD, Barquera R, Maj C, Szolek A, Sager M, Clayton S, Peltzer A, Hui R, Ronge J, Reiter E, Freund C, Burri M, Aron F, Tiliakou A, Osborn J, Behar DM, Boecker M, Brandt G, Cleynen I, Strassburg C, Prüfer K, Kühnert D, Meredith WR, Nöthen MM, Attenborough RD, Kivisild T, Krause J. Genomic analyses of hair from Ludwig van Beethoven. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1431-1447.e22. [PMID: 36958333 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) remains among the most influential and popular classical music composers. Health problems significantly impacted his career as a composer and pianist, including progressive hearing loss, recurring gastrointestinal complaints, and liver disease. In 1802, Beethoven requested that following his death, his disease be described and made public. Medical biographers have since proposed numerous hypotheses, including many substantially heritable conditions. Here we attempt a genomic analysis of Beethoven in order to elucidate potential underlying genetic and infectious causes of his illnesses. We incorporated improvements in ancient DNA methods into existing protocols for ancient hair samples, enabling the sequencing of high-coverage genomes from small quantities of historical hair. We analyzed eight independently sourced locks of hair attributed to Beethoven, five of which originated from a single European male. We deemed these matching samples to be almost certainly authentic and sequenced Beethoven's genome to 24-fold genomic coverage. Although we could not identify a genetic explanation for Beethoven's hearing disorder or gastrointestinal problems, we found that Beethoven had a genetic predisposition for liver disease. Metagenomic analyses revealed furthermore that Beethoven had a hepatitis B infection during at least the months prior to his death. Together with the genetic predisposition and his broadly accepted alcohol consumption, these present plausible explanations for Beethoven's severe liver disease, which culminated in his death. Unexpectedly, an analysis of Y chromosomes sequenced from five living members of the Van Beethoven patrilineage revealed the occurrence of an extra-pair paternity event in Ludwig van Beethoven's patrilineal ancestry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristan James Alexander Begg
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CB2 3ER Cambridge, UK; Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
| | - Axel Schmidt
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Bonn, Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Arthur Kocher
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Transmission, Infection, Diversification and Evolution Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Maarten H D Larmuseau
- Department of Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory of Human Genetic Genealogy, Department of Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; ARCHES - Antwerp Cultural Heritage Sciences, Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium; Histories vzw, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | | | | | - John D Wilson
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1030 Vienna, Austria; University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Rodrigo Barquera
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carlo Maj
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Bonn, Bonn 53127, Germany; Center for Human Genetics, University Hospital of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - András Szolek
- Applied Bioinformatics, Department for Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Stephen Clayton
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Alexander Peltzer
- Quantitative Biology Center (QBiC) University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ruoyun Hui
- MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK; Alan Turing Institute, 2QR, John Dodson House, London NW1 2DB, UK
| | | | - Ella Reiter
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Cäcilia Freund
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Marta Burri
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Franziska Aron
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Anthi Tiliakou
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Joanna Osborn
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CB2 3ER Cambridge, UK
| | - Doron M Behar
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Guido Brandt
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Isabelle Cleynen
- Department of Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Christian Strassburg
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Kay Prüfer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Denise Kühnert
- Transmission, Infection, Diversification and Evolution Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, Germany; European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC), Jena, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - William Rhea Meredith
- American Beethoven Society, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA; Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA; School of Music and Dance, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
| | - Markus M Nöthen
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital of Bonn, Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Robert David Attenborough
- MacDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK; School of Archaeology & Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - Toomas Kivisild
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CB2 3ER Cambridge, UK; Department of Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu 51010, Estonia.
| | - Johannes Krause
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany.
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