Da Vinci Family Tree: An intriguing DNA project!

Sarah Khatkhatay, SK Somaiya, Vidhyadhar

Leonardo Da Vinci was a true genius who graced the world with his presence and left a significant heritage not only in the world of art but in science as well. After putting in relentless efforts on studying and analysing Leonardo Da Vinci’s DNA, Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato have ultimately documented the continuity in the direct male line containing a total of 21 generations of the Da Vinci family, hereby covering about 690 years. They not only systematically summarised the above-mentioned data but they’ve also been successful in identifying 14 living male descendants of the family.  Their decade-long research was issued and published by a journal Human Evolution situated in Florence, consequently providing a powerful stepping stone demanding further research.

Their study unveils a detailed description of the family’s genealogy along the male line; beginning right from the primogenitor Michele (year of birth: 1331) coming almost 6 generations down to his grandson Leonardo (year of birth: 1452). The document further concludes until till date – constituting all the 21 generations. It pinpoints the main five family branches and highlights the 14 living descendants of the family. Their extensive collaboration has thus bridged the missing information from previous sources of research and has also rectified all the fallacies with utmost preciseness in regards to Leonardo Da Vinci’s family tree. They have also meticulously documented all the details and particulars of the past seven centuries dating until the present-day records with the registry office. The narrative is further detailed in the study by Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato by mentioning the living nevertheless indirect descendants which further also consists of two direct male lines until the 19th generation, all drawn from a single branch of the family. Additionally, there’s research still being carried on the supplementary branches of the family tree.

Leonardo did not produce any offspring, however, had at least 22 half brothers. The five family branches trace back from Leonardo’s father, ser Piero (of the 5th generation), and half brother Domenico (of the 6th generation). Data of over 225 individuals have been collected over the past 15 generations. The study along with the collaboration of the living descendants gives knowledge to the work of the Leonardo Da Vinci Heritage association. The extraordinary, authoritative 690 years genealogical research is fundamentally affiliated to the scientific work of Vezzosi and Sabato and also advanced with the international Leonard Da Vinci DNA project which was supported by Richard Lounsbery Foundation. This DNA project involves several high-profile universities and research centers including the J. Craig Venter Institute of the La Jolla and also the Department of Biology, the University of Florence which is directed by David Caramelli.

Like the surname, the male lineage connects the ancestry of registry records with the genetic history along separate lineages. Due to this, the present genealogy which passes over almost seven hundred years can be used to verify by means the most innovative technologies of molecular biology which is the unbroken transmission of the Y chromosome to confirm the recovery of Leonardo’s Y marker. The Y chromosome passed on to male descendants through the 25 generations was known to remain almost unchanged, through the living descendants and ancient tombs even if with some variations due to time. This makes it a useful element to scientifically explore the roots of Leonardo Da Vinci’s geniosity. Questions potentially probed once Leonardo’s DNA is confirmed including information on his parent’s geographical origins, his extraordinary powers of inventions and his outstanding physical beauty along with his health and hereditary diseases that has been passed on, his astonishing vision, diet intake, left-handedness, his neurological trait of merging the senses that are not normally connected and other sensory perceptions.

Collating the biological data could also possibly help in verifying the authenticity of artwork and materials handled by Leonardo Da Vinci. This thus pioneers the links between biology and art with broad statements for the world’s art market into art attribution and materials.

Also read: How many tastes do you have?

References:

1. Vezzosi, A., & Sabato, A. (2021). The new genealogical tree of the da vinci family for leonardo’s dna. Ancestors and descendants in direct male line down to the present xxi generation. Human Evolution, 36(1–2), 1–90. https://doi.org/10.14673/HE2021121077
2. https://www.leonardodavinci.net/

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