Research: The secrets of Beethoven’s DNA

Scientists have sequenced Beethoven’s genome from locks of his hair, revealing clues to the composer’s health and family history.

By Tom Almeroth-Williams

Cambrigde, March 25, 2023.- Beethoven’s genome has been sequenced for the first time by an international team of scientists using five genetically matching locks of his hair.

The study’s lead author is Tristan Begg, a final year Biological Anthropology PhD researcher from the Department of Archaeology and Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.

The research, led by Cambridge; the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies; the American Beethoven Society; KU Leuven; FamilyTreeDNA; the University Hospital Bonn and the University of Bonn; the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn; and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, uncovers important information about the composer’s health and poses new questions about his recent ancestry and cause of death.

The study, published in Current Biology, shows that DNA from five locks of hair – all dating from the last seven years of Beethoven’s life – originate from a single individual matching the composer’s documented ancestry. By combining genetic data with closely examined provenance histories, researchers conclude these five locks are “almost certainly authentic”.

The study’s primary aim was to shed light on Beethoven’s health problems, which famously include progressive hearing loss, beginning in his mid- to late-20s and eventually leading to him being functionally deaf by 1818. The team also investigated possible genetic causes of Beethoven’s chronic gastrointestinal complaints, and a severe liver disease that culminated in his death in 1827.

Beginning in his Bonn years, the composer suffered from “wretched” gastrointestinal problems, which continued and worsened in Vienna. In the summer of 1821, Beethoven had the first of at least two attacks of jaundice, a symptom of liver disease. Cirrhosis has long been viewed as the most likely cause of his death at age 56.

The team of scientists were unable to find a definitive cause for Beethoven’s deafness or gastrointestinal problems. However, they did discover a number of significant genetic risk factors for liver disease.

They also found evidence of an infection with Hepatitis B virus in at latest the months before the composer’s final illness.

Tristan Begg said: “We can surmise from Beethoven’s ‘conversation books’, which he used during the last decade of his life, that his alcohol consumption was very regular, although it is difficult to estimate the volumes being consumed.

“While most of his contemporaries claim his consumption was moderate by early 19th century Viennese standards, there is not complete agreement among these sources, and this still likely amounted to quantities of alcohol known today to be harmful to the liver.

The research team also suggests that Beethoven’s Hepatitis B infection might have driven the composer’s severe liver disease, exacerbated by his alcohol intake and genetic risk. However, the scientists caution that the nature and timing of this infection – which would have greatly influenced its relationship with Beethoven’s liver disease – could not currently be determined, and similarly caution that the true extent of his alcohol consumption remains unknown.

Beethoven’s hearing loss has been linked to several potential causes, among them diseases with various degrees of genetic contributions. Investigation of the authenticated hair samples did not reveal a simple genetic origin of the hearing loss.

Axel Schmidt at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital of Bonn, said: “Although a clear genetic underpinning for Beethoven’s hearing loss could not be identified, we caution that such a scenario cannot be strictly ruled out.

“Reference data, which are mandatory to interpret individual genomes, are steadily improving. It is therefore possible that Beethoven’s genome will reveal hints for the cause of his hearing loss in the future.”

It proved impossible to find a genetic explanation for Beethoven’s gastrointestinal complaints, but the researchers argue that coeliac disease and lactose intolerance are highly unlikely based on the genomic data. Beethoven was also found to have a certain degree of genetic protection against risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), often suspected as a cause, rendering this a less likely explanation.

“We cannot say definitely what killed Beethoven, but we can now at least confirm the presence of significant heritable risk, and an infection with Hepatitis B virus,” said Johannes Krause, from the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. “We can also eliminate several other less plausible genetic causes.”

“Taken in view of the known medical history, it is highly likely that it was some combination of these three factors, including his alcohol consumption, acting in concert, but future research will have to clarify the extent to which each factor was involved,” Tristan Begg adds.

Deja una respuesta

Tu dirección de correo electrónico no será publicada. Los campos obligatorios están marcados con *