Analysis of ancient bacterial genomes from parchment manuscripts

• Main Author: Sacristán Carrillo, Luisa Fernanda
• Other Authors: Reyes Muñoz, Alejandro, Rangel Piñeros, Guillermo Andrés, Villegas Torres, María Francisca, Facultad de Ciencias::Biología Computacional y Ecología Microbiana
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de los Andes 2023
• Subjects: Parchment; Ancient metagenomics; Manuscripts; Pathogen; Genomics; Biología; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1992/73281

Parchment, a material made from collagen extracted from animal hides, was the primary medium for manuscript production in the Middle Ages in Europe, and its manufacturing method depends on the geographical region and the era in which it was produced. Researchers have been able to reconstruct human history and study the culture of civilizations through the information contained in these ancient documents. However, thanks to Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques, a new field has emerged: biocodicology, which focuses on studying the biological information found in these manuscripts. In this study, the bacterial communities of 57 parchment manuscripts from Iceland, England, and Spain, spanning from the 10th to the 18th century, were analyzed and compared. We found that microbiome analysis serves as a reliable predictor of parchment-making methods and as a differentiator among parchments from various sources. The bacterial communities provide valuable insights into the parchment-making process, including the use of salt, evidence of manipulation, and distinctions in processing, while also indicating the potential presence of pathogens. Based on the analysis of all processed samples thus far, microbiome analysis seems to hold a promising future for advancing our understanding of parchment characteristics and origins. Magíster en Biología Computacional Maestría Ancient Metagenomics