The backstory to a surprising DNA Portrait
Darlene Cavalier, a champion for the cause for smart science policy and better science education, commissioned a family DNA Portrait from Lynn. This is the story behind the inspiration and the science in the art. (Shown above is the completed portrait).
You could say my idea to use DNA in art began in childhood. I was fascinated by science with a titles I couldn’t pronounce — like paleoanthropology. No matter! I was the first one in my family to grab “National Geographic” to read about the latest discoveries. Ancient hominid bones and tools found in Africa were must read articles. The mysterious, lit-by-fire paintings of primitive people and the tales told were so exotic. Who wouldn’t fall in love with the quest for human origins?
Before 1987 the only evidence came from fossils
The Leakeys in the Olduvai Gorge found tools, bones and 3.6 million year old footprints. Donald Johanson found “Lucy” in the Great Rift Valley a few years later. Two opposing theories tried to explain the accumulating bones. “Out of Africa” argued for one emergence that replaced archaic humans in other parts of the world. The other theory, “Multi-regionalism”, suggested multiple developments outside of Africa to explain fossils like “Java Man” (found in Asia). Fast forward to 1987 and a landmark paper by three geneticists that transformed the field.
Break through! Fossils and genetics team up
While the fossil record was documenting human evolution with bones, scientists in the lab were finding very interesting molecular data. Geneticists Mark Stoneking, Rebecca Cann, and Allan Wilson wondered if our genome could act as a molecular clock. They hypothesized that our genes carry evolutionary mutations, providing a trail to the common ancestor. “Mitochondrial DNA and Human Evolution” published in “Nature” in 1987, was their breakthrough research that verified the hypothesis. You’ve heard of “Mitochondrial Eve”? The paper was the source for the famous name the media gave our female common ancestor. More importantly, the research corroborated the fossil evidence and supported the “Out of Africa” theory.
Enter the Genographic Project
One of the next developments came in 2005, with population geneticist Dr. Spencer Wells, director of the “Genographic Project”. His goal was to gather DNA from indigenous people around the world to see if genes evolving over time connect to population movements (migrations across the landscape). The research results have been an excellent example of anthropology and genetics working together. The combined data revealed our ancient migratory routes out of Africa, what scientists call Haplogroups. Dr. Wells also offered something very new to the non-scientist — a chance to contribute their DNA to the project and learn about their deep ancestry. Wow! I bought a lab kit and sent in my sample right away.
What’s this got to do with a DNA portrait?
The “Mitochondrial Eve” story renewed my childhood interest in human origins. But getting data about my own DNA — that blew my mind! I realized we’re in the midst of a genetic revolution that will change how we think of ourselves in fundamental ways. Identity is a theme explored by artists through the tradition of portraiture. And here was the biggest shift in individual and cultural identity in human history. I had found inspiration for making art — a new kind of portrait based on genetic data.
Know the science to do the art
To develop authentic imagery, I had to understand the where and why about DNA in the Genographic Project. Here are the key points specific to the project:
• Data in the portraits comes from individual DNA (your sequence) in combination with the migratory paths (your haplogroup).
• A very small portion of DNA is sequenced from a specific region in your genome. It gives prehistoric ancestry only, no medical or parental information.
• The region that is sequenced is different for men and women. Women have one source: DNA found in mitochondria (mt DNA). This DNA is found in an organelle in our cells called mitochondria. It is passed from mother to daughter all the way to the common female ancestor. Men inherit it from their mother, but do not pass it on to their offspring.
• So men have two sources and can choose which one to sequence. Mt DNA for their mother’s line or DNA from the SRY gene (on the Y chromosome) for their father’s line.
• It’s important to know that these regions don’t recombine. The mutations that accumulate, also called “markers”, thus carry our lineage back through time. The markers make up the migratory paths of the haplogroups. Take a look at how this information is used in the art:
Shown above are the graphic symbols for male and female DNA data. On the left is the Y chromosome in blue. The numbers along the right are loci on the gene and the markers for deep ancestry. They are called STRs (standard tandem repeats). The circle on the right has the female data. The sequence is shownwith markers noted in yellow. Note the letter “C” in the group of “ATC and Gs”.
A family portrait for a science advocate
I developed a number of images incorporating the genetic data and began to show them to people interested in science and art. One of my first clients for a DNA Portrait was Darlene Cavalier, a passionate advocate for science. Darlene is well known for her blog, sciencecheerleader.com, where she facilitates science policy discussion and promotes science education. She loves the science-art connection and thought a combined portrait of her son and daughter would make a unique family story. DNA from her daughter would show the mother to daughter link and her son’s Y chromosome would show father to son — a generational family portrait. Brilliant!
Getting Started on the portrait
I sent two lab kits to Darlene with instructions to note which kit had the female sample and which had the male. Once the kits were mailed, Darlene’s task was done and I took it from there. I checked online to make sure the kits entered the lab and kept tabs on the progress. It took about 4 weeks to complete the sequencing.
Meanwhile I asked Darlene what she knew about previous generations — their village or country of origin before traveling to the new world. I planned to highlight locations in “current time” as well as the prehistoric migration routes. She told me her mother’s family was from Hungary and her husband’s paternal line from Italy. We talked about selecting a design but decided to wait for the DNA results. A good thing! Because when the data came back, the results showed haplogroup routes that required a brand new image to show them off.
Farmers in the fertile crescent: Haplogroup J2
Haplogroup J2, the paternal line, lands her son’s ancestors smack dab in Italy. Aligning with family history, once the Y chromosome arrived they stayed in the neighborhood. See the blue route coming out of Africa? The northern branch ends close to what would become 15,000 years later — Rome, Italy (the boot is highlighted). Notes from the Genographic Project say that “J2″ pioneered the shift from gathering to farming, kick starting the Neolithic Revolution. Very impressive but mere youngsters compared to the DNA lineage of the female line.
Amazing global travelers: Haplogroup X
Her daughter’s lineage is one of the rare groups that traveled the furthest across the globe — Hap Group X. There are three female and two male groups that eventually crossed the ancient, now submerged continent of Beringa, to North America. Haplogroup X is one of them. When I first saw the results I double triple checked, thinking I made an error. But no, there was a small branch of the route curving to left. That group decided to stay, in what would become about 30,000 years later, the Hungarian empire. So the family story in current time matched the deep ancestry. How interesting though, that some family members broke away to travel across Asia and into the New World. People who survived to found the Native American tribes such as the Ojibwa, Sioux and Navajo. See the image at the top to see how the route continues.
Completing the portrait
Once Darlene and I had seen the data and the routes, we talked about a design and color scheme for the unusual portrait. After reviewing the preliminary art and double checking for typos, it was ready to print. Using 100% rag paper and pigment inks on my large format giclee printer, the art is archival — a keepsake that will last for generations.
At the dawn of understanding who we are
Darlene’s portrait in addition to being a work of art, is also is a historical document. It shows our knowledge at a point in time — at the beginning of understanding who we are. There is so much more complexity in our ancestral lineages than what current genetic tests reveal. Other areas of our genomes hold clues to a much deeper mix of diversity. As we gather more data, perhaps we will begin to will refer to our ancestral lineage rather than our ethnic heritage. We are all a very diverse mix of many ancestors who lived over a long period of time. We are all related and all connected.