Objective:

Assess DNA and other biological material recovered from Shroud of Turin samples and determine whether the findings could establish the artifact’s age or origin.

Approach:

• Samples: Researchers at the University of Padova analyzed 12 specimens from an official collection obtained in 1978; seven yielded enough DNA for sequencing.
• Analyses: Under clean-room conditions, they used shotgun sequencing, mitochondrial DNA analysis, metagenomic profiling, bioinformatics, proteomic testing, and radiocarbon dating of two casket threads.

Key Findings:

• More than 98% of the short DNA fragments lacked molecular damage patterns generally associated with ancient DNA, and testing found evidence of modern DNA.
• The predominant mitochondrial lineage matched that of sample collector Pierluigi Baima Bollone; genome-wide analysis linked DNA in three samples to him or a first-degree relative.
• Other human mitochondrial variants were detected, but mixed genetic material prevented attribution to an original individual.
• The samples contained skin-associated bacteria and proteins, as well as diverse microbial, plant, and animal DNA. Some crop DNA suggested contamination at least partly occurred relatively recently.
• Radiocarbon dates from two casket threads aligned with documented repairs in 1534 and 1694; those threads were not used to date the Shroud.

Interpretation:

The researchers concluded that metagenomic testing could not determine whether the Shroud was medieval or approximately 2,000 years old.

Limitations:

• The samples reflected handling and environmental exposure, and modern contamination limited their ability to establish the artifact’s age or origin.
• The mixed DNA could not be linked to an original individual.
• The radiocarbon-dated threads were from the casket and were not used to determine the Shroud’s age.

Sources:

• Scientific Reports study, as described in the provided article context