Biology in the Conservation of Works of Art Pdf

Abstract

Microorganisms (bacteria, archaea and fungi), in improver to lichens and insect pests, cause bug in the conservation of cultural heritage because of their biodeteriorative potential. This holds true for all types of historic artefacts, and even for art made of modern materials, in public buildings, museums and private fine art collections. The variety of biodeterioration phenomena observed on materials of cultural heritage is adamant by several factors, such as the chemical composition and nature of the material itself, the climate and exposure of the object, in improver to the manner and frequency of surface cleaning and housekeeping in museums. This study offers a review of a diversity of well-known biodeterioration phenomena observed on unlike materials, such as stone and building materials, objects exhibited in museums and libraries, every bit well as homo remains and burial-related materials. The decontamination of infected artefacts, exhibition rooms and depots incurs high expenditure for museums. Nevertheless, the question has to be raised: whether the process of biodeterioration of cultural heritage tin or should be stopped nether all circumstances, or whether we take to accept it as a natural and an implicit consecution of its creation. This study too highlights critically the pros and cons of biocide treatments and gives some prominent examples of successful and unsuccessful conservation treatments. Furthermore, an outlook on the future research needs and developments in this highly interesting field is given.

Introduction

Biodeterioration can be defined equally "whatever undesirable change in a textile brought most past the vital activities of organisms" (Allsopp 2011). Bacteria, archaea, fungi and lichens as well as insect pests are constantly causing issues in the conservation of cultural heritage because of their biodeteriorative potential. This holds true for all types of historic artefacts and even for art made of modern materials (e.g., polymers; Sabev et al. 2006) in public museums and in private fine art collections. Fungi, bacteria and lichens are as well constitute on mural paintings in churches, caves and catacombs, and fifty-fifty as biodeteriogens of architectural surfaces and stone monuments in outdoor environments (Ettenauer et al. 2010; Piñar and Sterflinger 2009; Saarela et al. 2004; Steiger et al. 2011; Sterflinger 2000; Urzì 2004). The oldest and most precious objects suffering from serious fungal invasions are stone art caves, such as the caves of Lascaux in France (Bastian and Alabouvette 2009).

Although the history of biodeterioration of houses and art is long and cases of reddish and green "leprosies" in houses have been described in the Bible (e.g., Leviticus Chap. 14, 5. 36), its importance has been neglected for a long fourth dimension, during which chemical and physical processes were believed to be the ascendant factors of material decay. In recent decades, still, the dogma has inverse and it is now more often than not agreed that fungi and leaner not only cause serious aesthetical devastation of paintings, costumes, ceramics, mummies, books and manuscripts, they inhabit and penetrate into the materials, resulting in fabric loss, due to acrid corrosion, enzymatic degradation and mechanical assail.

Decontamination of infected artefacts, exhibition rooms and depots results in high expenditure for museums (Allsopp et al. 2004; Cappitelli et al. 2009; Koestler et al. 2003; Mesquita et al. 2009; Nittérus 2000a; Pangallo et al. 2009; Sterflinger 2010). Allsopp (2011) stated that the almanac world loss of non-food materials due to fungal assault is Usa$40 billion. However, the cultural and historical value of many paintings, books and manuscripts is costive and thus, cannot exist expressed but in terms of money. Even so, the question has to be raised: whether the process of biodeterioration of cultural heritage tin can or should be stopped under whatever circumstances, or whether we accept to take it as a natural and implicit consecution of its cosmos.

Microorganisms associated with biodeterioration phenomena observed on materials of cultural heritage

The biodeterioration phenomena observed on materials of cultural heritage are adamant past several factors: (ane) the chemical composition and nature of the material itself, (2) the climate and exposure of the object, (3) the manner and frequency of surface cleaning and housekeeping in museums. Some well-known examples are detailed below.

Biodeterioration of stone and building materials

Microorganisms contribute significantly to the overall deterioration phenomena observed on stone and other building materials, such as physical, mortar, slurries and paint coatings, glass and metals used in compages (Piñar and Sterflinger 2009). On edifice stone exposed to the environment, fungi may be the about important biodeteriorative organisms considering they are extremely erosive (Scheerer et al. 2009; Sterflinger 2000). Depending on the physical backdrop of the material, fungi may penetrate inside the stone. The phenomenon of bio-pitting — the formation of pits in sizes ranging up to ii cm in diameter and depth in stone — is caused mainly by black fungi. Bio-pitting occurs predominantly on marble and limestone, but information technology has likewise been observed on antiquarian glass (Piñar et al. 2013a).There are 2 major morphological and ecological groups of rock-inhabiting and stone-dwelling fungi. These have adapted to different environmental conditions. In moderate or humid climates, the fungal communities on rock are dominated past hyphomycetes (mold) that form mycelia (hyphal networks) in the porous space of the stones (Sterflinger 2000; Rosling et al. 2009). Since the settlement of spores from the air is the first footstep for fungal colonization, the species diversity of rock fungi is rather similar to the diversity of common airborne spores. Alternaria, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Aureobasidium and Phoma are the well-nigh important species (Sterflinger and Prillinger 2001). In barren and semi-barren environments, such equally those found in the Mediterranean surface area, the climatic conditions are as well extreme for about hyphomycetes, therefore the communities shift towards the so-called blackness yeasts and microcolonial fungi. Black fungi belonging to the genera Hortaea, Sarcinomyces, Coniosporium, Capnobotryella, Exophiala, Knufia and Trimmatostroma form small blackness colonies on and inside the rock and oftentimes occur in close association with lichens (Sterflinger 2005). Due to the thick walls they develop, fungi too resist chemical assail and, therefore, resist biocides and other anti-microbial treatments. Black fungi dwell deep inside granite, calcareous limestone and marble, which they erode by both chemical and mechanical assault. They are the main culprits for the phenomenon of bio-pitting. Due to the strong melanization of the jail cell walls, stones colonized past these fungi showroom black spots or may be completely covered by a black layer. In add-on to outdoor environments, blackness fungi are too found on stone surfaces of caves and catacombs (Saarela et al. 2004) especially where the naturally high humidity has been actively decreased in gild to suppress algal growth on precious wall paintings.

Cyanobacteria, algae and lichens contribute to the weathering of rock in humid also as in semi barren and arid environments (Cutler et al. 2013; Lamprinou et al. 2013). They produce a characteristic miracle consisting of large green-black stains (Figs. 1 and 2a). The ability of cyanobacteria to adapt to dissimilar light qualities by chromatic adaptation, also allows them to develop on stone in archaeological hypogea with low light intensities, equally in the example of crypts, caves and catacombs. At that place, they may be ane of the almost important deterioration agents for wall paintings and inscriptions. In such subsurface environments Eucapsis, Leptolyngbya, Scytonema and Fischerella have been the well-nigh oftentimes encountered cyanobacterial taxa (Bellezza et al. 2003).

Fig. 1

Sculpture made of white Carrara marble with black discolorations acquired by fungi and lichens; Boboli Park, Florence, Italy (Photo: Sterflinger)

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Fig. 2

a Dark-green algal and cyanobacterial stains on mortar surfaces in the castle of Rappottenstein (Austria). b Rosy stains characteristic for halophilic and halotolerant archaea and bacteria. (Photos: Ettenauer)

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The role of chemoheterotrophic bacteria in the weathering of stone probably depends largely on the environmental weather: while bacteria might evolve in humid environments and form biofilms within the porous infinite of building stone, in arid and semi barren environments their occurrence might exist limited. Nevertheless, chemoheterotrophs are not only contributing to the weathering of rock. This group of microorganisms has been shown to have some impact on the consolidation of rock and plaster because they enhance calcium carbonate precipitation by passive and active processes. Strains of Bacillus cereus and Myxococcus xanthus have been used to actively bio-induce calcite precipitation to reinforce monumental stone (Castanier et al. 1999; Ettenauer et al. 2011; Fernandes 2006; Jimenez-Lopez et al. 2007; Piñar et al. 2010; Rodriguez-Navarro et al. 2003; Tiano et al. 1999).

Members of the Actinobacteria phylum inhabit stone more effectively than most of the single-celled bacteria. This fact can exist attributed to their filamentous growth and also to their effective utilization of various nitrogen and carbon sources (Saarela et al. 2004). Heterotrophic bacteria include a variety of genera such equally Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Nocardia, Mycobacterium, Streptomyces and Sarcina, which are the species virtually oftentimes isolated from wall paintings (Bassi et al. 1986; Ciferri 1999; Heyrman et al. 1999; Palla et al. 2002; Pangallo et al. 2012; Suihko et al. 2007) but as well in caves and catacombs (De Leo et al. 2012). In some cases, particularly when organic layers — e.g., saccharose, starch or cellulose — have been applied for the fixation of a wall painting, mutual indoor fungi like Cladosporium or Alternaria may also inhabit wall paintings and plaster (Fig. 3a, b).

A well-known miracle oftentimes observed on buildings and wall paintings, especially on those under non-controlled climatic conditions, is the formation of salt efflorescence on the wall surfaces (Amoroso and Fassina 1983). Salt may be available in the wall itself, from biological processes (ammonium salts) or but due to co-migration with infiltrating h2o. Due to changes in physical parameters, i.eastward., temperature or humidity, salts can precipitate on the exposed surfaces. The crystallization of salts on walls and wall paintings results in a subversive effect. Some salts can crystallize to different hydrates, occupying a larger space and producing an additional pressure that eventually leads to material loss and destruction due to swell and detachment of the walls (Saiz-Jimenez and Laiz 2000; Piñar et al. 2009, 2013b). Moreover, the salt efflorescence mimics the atmospheric condition found in extreme habitats favoring the proliferation of halotolerant/halophilic microorganisms. Halophilic species of the Gammaproteobacteria (such as the genera Idiomarina, Salinisphaera and Halomonas) and Firmicutes (Halobacillus and Bacillus spp.), but also species of the phyla Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria (as Rubrobacter) have ofttimes been detected on table salt-attacked monuments. In add-on, the most important genera of archaea establish in such environments are Halococcus and Halobacterium (Ettenauer et al. 2010, 2013 submitted; Imperi et al. 2007; Jurado et al. 2012; Laiz et al. 2009; Piñar et al. 2001; 2009; 2013b; Saiz-Jimenez and Laiz 2000). Many of these microorganisms comprise carotenoid pigments such as β-carotene, α-bacterioruberin and derivatives, and salinixanthin in their cell membranes (Oren 2009). Their proliferation produces typical rosy stains on the wall surfaces, significantly influencing the optical appearance of wall paintings and historical plaster (Fig. 2a, b).

Fig. 3

a, b Growth of the fungus Cladosporium sp. on a modern wall painting (Karl Weiser 1952), Weyregg, Republic of austria. (Photos: Sterflinger)

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Biodeterioration in museums and libraries

In museums and collections, as well as in libraries, fungi play the most important role in biodeterioration. Infections are generally airborne — with significant seasonal variations — and loftier numbers of spores can accumulate in dust layers (Kaarakainen et al. 2009). Poor ventilation and non-homogeneous surface temperature can produce water condensation points and local micro-climates with higher h2o availability than in the remainder of an indoor environment. These circumstances are favourable to some fungal species; every bit a upshot, these are able to proliferate in places where the overall environmental conditions would otherwise appear to exist hostile to microbial life. Typical fungal infections in libraries, colonizing documents made of paper, are acquired by species of wearisome-growing Ascomycetes as well as mitosporic xerophilic fungi (fungi that thrive in materials with a low h2o activeness, i.e., a _w = 0.70–0.85) of the genera Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, Chrysosporium, Penicillium and Cladosporium (Pinzari and Montanari 2011). Withal, information technology is worth noting on special cases of mono-specific infections within compactus shelving, which take been attributed mainly to fungal species belonging to the Eurotium genera, such as Eurotium halophilicum (Montanari et al. 2012).

A well-known miracle that some authors attribute to fungal activity on paper is the and so-called "foxing", consisting of small and isolated rusty red-brownish spots which are often not directly linked to structural degradation of the substratum (Gallo and Pasquariello 1989). Since the earliest studies, foxed spots take been controversially attributed to biological agents (fungi and bacteria) or to chemic factors (iron oxidation, organic and inorganic dust particles, etc.). Recent studies on the foxing problem, both via scanning electron microscopy, and by chemical and microbiological assay, also led to inconclusive results (Arai 2000; Choi 2007), but contempo inquiry has agreed on the fungal nature of the phenomenon (Michaelsen et al. 2009, 2010; Rakotonirainy et al. 2007) and on the implication of leaner in the deterioration of newspaper (De Paolis and Lippi 2008; Michaelsen et al. 2010).

A very different infection tin occur in libraries and archives when water of a sudden becomes available, such every bit in the example of flooding. In this example, molds associated with water harm consist of fungal species that demand a high water activity. These molds tin can produce coloured stains (i.eastward., Chaetomium spp., Monoascus spp., and Epicoccum spp.), strong odours (i.e., Trichoderma spp.) and toxic compounds (i.e., Stachybotrys spp.).

Fungal degradation of library materials and paintings causes dissimilar kinds of impairment depending on the species of organism responsible for the attack and the characteristics of the substratum. Damage tin can occur because of mechanical stress, product of staining compounds or enzymatic action (Blyskal 2009; López-Miras et al. 2013; Pinzari et al. 2010; Santos et al. 2009; Sterflinger 2010). Most of the filamentous fungi associated with the damage of paper and oil paintings on canvas tin can dissolve cellulose fibres with the activity of cellulolytic enzymes, or may discolour the back up, dissolve glues and inks or degrade the oil binders (Fig. 4a).

Fig. 4

a White fungus growing in the craquelees of an oil painting (Stift Lilienfeld, Republic of austria); b growth of black fungi on the wall paintings of the Paulus grotto virtually Ephesus, Turkey. (Photos: Sterflinger)

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The degradation of documents made of parchment — which is mainly composed of collagen — is a complex process, which involves the chemical oxidative deterioration of amino acrid chains and hydrolytic cleavage of the peptide construction. Microorganisms can hydrolyze collagen fibres and other poly peptide-based materials, only can also modify the inorganic components, or produce pigments and organic acids which discolour the parchment. Bacteria displaying proteolytic activities play a major role in the deterioration of ancient documents and books made of parchment. Species belonging to the genera Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Virgibacillus and Micromonospora have been isolated from deteriorated parchments (Kraková et al. 2012). In add-on, some alkaliphilic leaner (microbes that thrive in environments with a pH of 9 to eleven) and several species of the Actinobacteria accept been detected in connexion with a typical damage phenomenon, namely a parchment discoloration consisting of purple spots (Pinzari et al. 2012; Piñar et al. 2011; Strzelczyk and Karbowska-Berent 2000). Parchment also provides good atmospheric condition for the evolution of proteolytic fungi, amid which numerous representatives of Ascomycetes such as Chaetomium and Gymnoascus, as well equally mitosporic fungi in the genera Acremonium, Aspergillus, Aureobasidium, Epicoccum, Trichoderma, and Verticillium.

Biodeterioration of human remains and related cached or exhibited materials

Very special cases of biodeterioration occur whenever nutrient-rich materials are involved and the climate is non-controlled. This is the example for mummies and related materials, such as dress, documents or stuffing materials buried or exhibited; conserved in churches and crypts (Jurado et al. 2010; Pangallo et al. 2013; Piombino-Mascali et al. 2011; Piñar et al. 2013b). A very impressive case of this kind of deterioration is represented by the mummies of the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Italy. First observations revealed a heavy mold contamination on the surface of the mummies, but deep molecular analyses revealed complex microbial communities, consisting of bacteria, archaea, and fungi, colonizing the mummies and related materials. Sequences related to specialized microorganisms belonging to taxa well known for their cellulolytic and proteolytic activities were detected on cellulosic and keratin- and collagen-rich materials, respectively. Additionally, sequences related to the homo skin microbiome and to some pathogenic bacteria (order Clostridiales) and fungi (genus Phialosimplex) were identified on the mummies. There are also other well-known examples which show the colonization of preserved bodies by opportunistic fungi, such as the case of the restoration of the body of Ramses 2, performed in Paris in 1976–1977 (Mouchacca 1985) and the loftier fungal contamination of the air and dust of the Egyptian mummy bedroom at the Baroda Museum in India (Arya et al. 2001). Additionally, saprophytic fungi and bacteria were isolated from a mummy from the collection of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia (Čavka et al. 2010). All these studies clearly demonstrate that specialized microorganisms are threatening the conservation of human being remains and related materials, and that loftier concentrations of air-borne fungal spores may even pose a potential health adventure for visitors (Piñar et al. 2013b).

To kill or non to kill? Antimicrobial treatments in restoration and conservation

For disinfection of recent and progressive microbiological impairment, a express range of physical and chemical methods are bachelor (Allsopp et al. 2004). Chemical treatments include liquid biocides and fumigation with gases. The pick of an appropriate biocide is limited by the European Union's Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) (http://ec.europa.eu/surround/biocides/index.htm). Although the number of chemic classes listed by Paulus (2004) includes a wide diversity, such every bit alcohols, aldehydes, phenols, acids, acid esters, amides, carbamates, dibenzamidines, pyridines, azoles, heterocyclics, activated element of group vii compounds, surface active agents, organometallics and oxidizing agents, the number of products suitable for cultural heritage is comparatively express because but a pocket-size number of agents have been tested with respect to their compatibility with celebrated materials, such every bit pigments, organic binders or newspaper, and only a very few studies be on the long term effects of the biocides, such every bit possible colour changes or degradation products. Biocides oft used in restoration are: (ane) formaldehyde releasers (Sterflinger and Sert 2006; Pinar et al. 2009), (two) quaternary ammonium compounds with an optimal chain length of C14–C16 (Diaz-Herraiz et al. 2013), (3) isothiazolinone, a more recent biocide, which was documented to be not only effective but even preventive on paper objects (Polo et al. 2010) and 4) the most common disinfectant used in microbiology: ethanol tin can as well have a good fungitoxic upshot if the contact time is at to the lowest degree 2–iii min (Nittérus 2000b). A broad spectrum of chemical and not-chemical mass treatments has been utilized to impale microfungi attacking newspaper objects in an attempt to inhibit deposition (Magaudda 2004). Ethylene oxide (EtO) fumigation is banned in some countries considering it is extremely toxic, but it nevertheless represents the most efficacious organization for mass treatment of mouldy library materials. Gamma radiation is very constructive against fungi and their spores. Since the dose for fungi must exist in backlog of x–twenty kGy (Nittérus 2000a), this method also affects many materials and its awarding is restricted. The application of gamma rays can result in cumulative depolymerisation of the underlying cellulose and in severe ageing characteristics (Adamo et al. 1998; Butterfield 1987).

As well the compatibility with the materials of the treated artefacts, the about challenging aspect of biocide treatments is the fact that, in many cases, objects are infested past a mixed community of microorganisms with different levels of susceptibility towards the chemical compound applied. For microbiologists it is quite like shooting fish in a barrel to sympathize that a biocide handling might therefore exert a selective pressure on the microbial community and, in the worst case, the customs may be turned into one that is less sensitive or fifty-fifty resistant to the biocides, and might become even more harmful to the object. Prominent and notorious examples are the so-called Cave of St. Paul in Ephesus (Turkey) and the wall paintings of Lascaux (French republic). In the Cave of St. Paul, a massive algal and cyanobacterial bloom covered the early Christian wall paintings. After several treatments with 4th ammonium compounds, a more resistant community — which included melanized fungi — adult, causing astringent aesthetical damage to the surfaces (Pillinger et al. 2008) (Fig. 4b). In the Lascaux Caves, a spectacular series of biocide treatments were carried out, starting in 1963, with the terminal existence reported in 2009 (Martin-Sanchez et al. 2012). Hither, antibiotics, such as penicillin, streptomycin and kanamycin — but also formol (10 % aqueous solution of formaldehyde), various products based on benzalkonium chloride and isothiazolinone — were applied. These successive treatments triggered the evolution of white fungal stains caused past Fusarium solani, the growth of resistant Pseudomonas fluorescens strains and finally, the growth of melanized fungal species, such as Ochroconis lascauxensis, O. anomala and Exophiala castellanii (Saiz-Jimenez et al. 2012).

In contrast to this, skilful results were accomplished against a mono-specific infestation of Aspergillus glaucus inhabiting the painting and fixation layer of the 12th century wooden ceiling in Zillis (Switzerland). There, the individual wooden panels of the ceiling were successfully treated with the application of organotin (TBTO), a biocide that is efficient but which has been abandoned in Europe considering of its high environmental toxicity. Nevertheless, also in Zillis, the most important command gene was a system for climate control (Bläuer-Böhm et al. 1997; Böhm et al. 2001).

In the past — especially in the 1960s and 1970s — a number of highly toxic organochloride compounds like lindane or pentachlorophenole (PCB) were used for decontamination of wooden objects and textiles. Since these agents are chemically very stable, they might yet persist in many of the objects treated and thus are a wellness run a risk for restorers that handle these objects today. Other by treatments might hamper or falsify biological, chemical or physical assay. Fumigation with ethylenoxide, for example, interferes with biological analysis since it intercalates with DNA and RNA which cannot be recovered anymore (Michaelsen et al. 2013). The lack of documentation in the past complicates today'due south restoration and conservation piece of work. Today, documentation of objects and their restoration history is one of the most important responsibilities in conservation as a basis for our progeny.

Treatments and monitoring

One of the major obstacles in treating contaminated art works with biocides and physical methods similar Gamma radiation or heat was, and still is, the lack of appropriate monitoring methods. For the taxon analysis of microbial communities on fine art works, information technology is widely accepted that not all fungi, and only an extremely pocket-sized fraction of archaea and bacteria, can be cultivated on laboratory media and that molecular methods based on Dna are necessary to evaluate the microbial diversity in a sample (Ettenauer et al. 2012; González and Saiz-Jimenez 2005; Laiz et al. 2003; Michaelsen et al. 2006; Piñar et al. 2001; Schabereiter-Gurtner et al. 2001). Curiously, viable cell counts are still the method of selection to prove microbial activity versus not-activeness, if any examination is carried out to monitor the outcome of an antimicrobial treatment at all. Since the late 1980s, when it was mostly agreed that microorganisms played a considerable role in the preservation of art objects and historical buildings, meaning effort was practical to ascertaining the biodiversity in the component materials of works of art. This was an important basis for innovative and optimized preservation concepts. Today, it is absolutely necessary to complement these information by studying the physiological activity of the various microbes on and in materials (a) in order to become a deeper understanding of biodeterioration processes, (b) to be able to monitor the consequence and success of antimicrobial treatments and (c) to develop alternative and non-toxic treatment methods, due east.thou., special climatization concepts in club to stop or to slow down the biodeteriorative action of the microorganisms. In the past, several attempts were fabricated to quantify microbial action based on chemic reactions: Sterflinger et al. (1994) developed a not subversive method, the "respiration bell-jar" to trap CO_2, in order to monitor respiration on stone surfaces. Redox indicators such as triphenytetrazoliumchloride were used to confirm and evaluate microbial activeness on decaying stones (Warscheid 1990). Recently, many companies have offered luminometers that detect and quantify ATP in swab samples and give an estimation of biological activity on surfaces like paper, paintings or other materials (Berthold and Tarkkanen 2013; Rakotonirainy and Arnold 2008). While these methods give a crude interpretation of the microbial action in full general, analysing the expression of genes would requite detailed information about the metabolic state and about the biodeterioration procedure and potential — as in, for example, following the activity of cellulolytic and keratinolytic enzymes on newspaper and parchment (Kraková et al. 2012). Although RT qPCR is a routine tool for scientific questions nowadays, it is still not used for routine monitoring of treatments, and studies on RNA in samples of cultural heritage are still rare (Martin Sanchez et al. 2013; Michaelsen et al. 2013; Portillo et al. 2008, 2009). This is because the costs for molecular analysis are still loftier in relation to the overall costs that are ordinarily available for the restoration and conservation of an object. However, recent genomics and transcriptomics technology opens more than possibilities to understanding the action and function of whole microbial communities. Sequencing of meta-transcriptomes and metagenomes, with the assistance of next-generation sequencing engineering science, could assist in understanding how historic materials are attacked past microbes, how microbes collaborate with those materials and with each other (e.g., in a biofilm), and in monitoring specifically the event of biocide treatments on the viability, the function and possible customs shifts. This would as well help to overcome the so-called "viable but not cultivable" country in bacteria that can occur as a reaction to antibody and biocide treatments (Oliver 2009).

Outlook

The nearly important factors for prevention of biogenic damage on historic objects are: (one) climate command, (ii) frequent cleaning and (three) phenomenological monitoring (Barton and Wellheiser 1985; Dicus 2000; Pinzari 2011; Sterflinger 2010). The importance of simple cleaning is still underestimated, despite the fact that it is well known that dust layers on objects carry high numbers of fungal spores and bacteria, and also serve as a nutrient source for those organisms. Microbiologists must increase the sensation of these preventative measures by consulting with and instructing restorers, preservationists and museum curators. We must learn from the mistakes made with biocide treatments in the past, and utilize the following principles:

1. (i)

   More than accent must be focused on simple prevention measures such equally the cleaning of dust layers and frequent observation of objects.

2. (2)

   Biocide treatments must be applied with farthermost caution and only later a stringent series of tests adjusted to the requirements of a detail object. In restoration and conservation, infrequent rules are necessary for the application of efficient toxic substances, which may exist non listed in the Eu biocide directive.

3. (iii)

   More than endeavour is necessary in the development of alternative decontamination methods, e.g., the gamma radiations (Magaudda 2004) modification of light (Albertano et al. 2005) and micro-climates (Camuffo 1998; Pinzari and Montanari 2011).

4. (4)

   Monitoring methods must be optimized in order to be able to appraise the effects of conservation treatments, climate change or biocide application. This could be done based on state of the art microbiological methods such every bit genome and transcriptome sequencing.

5. (5)

   In the instance where we cannot ensure that a freshly excavated object can be preserved and protected against biodeterioration, it should remain buried in soil or nether layers of paint or plaster (e.1000., for wall paintings) until amend methods are available for preservation. A image change is necessary in social club to larn that not everything that is discovered must (or can) be exhibited and opened to the public.

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Acknowledgments

G. Piñar is financed past the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project "Elise-Richter V194-B20". Nosotros further thank the VIBT EQ GmbH for supporting piece of work on rock inhabiting fungi in the VIBT Extremophile Heart. We give thanks the "Wien Museum" and the "Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien" for kind assistance and good cooperation.

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1. Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Republic of austria

   Katja Sterflinger & Guadalupe Piñar

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Correspondence to Katja Sterflinger.

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Sterflinger, K., Piñar, M. Microbial deterioration of cultural heritage and works of art — tilting at windmills?. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 9637–9646 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-5283-ane

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• Received: 19 August 2013

• Revised: 17 September 2013

• Accepted: eighteen September 2013

• Published: 08 Oct 2013

• Outcome Date: November 2013

• DOI : https://doi.org/x.1007/s00253-013-5283-1

Keywords

• Biodeterioration phenomena
• Microbial communities
• Biocides
• Conservation

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