Fungal deterioration of medieval wall fresco determined by analysing small fragments containing copper

Bacterial community analysis on the Mediaeval stained glass window “Natività” in the Florence Cathedral

“…Copper in its free ionic form (Cu 2þ ) is toxic to microbial cells [21] and in some cases Cu-rich portion of the glass acts as a barrier to bioactivity [9,22]. Similar results are described by Milanesi et al (2006) [31] who found that high concentration of copper carbonate hydrate in mediaeval wall frescos can reduce the biodiversity of microorganisms in the pictorial surface. Copper is an element that cannot act as a glass network former, and in K-rich glass it is released [32].…”

Bacterial-Fungal Interactions: Hyphens between Agricultural, Clinical, Environmental, and Food Microbiologists

“…Whatever the material (e.g., stone, ceramics, metals, window glasses, paintings, mortars, and adobes) and the location (indoors or outdoors) of the heritage to preserve, surfaces are often colonized by complex microbial communities. The number of studies reporting an inventory of the bacterial and fungal diversity colonizing these surfaces has increased substantially in recent years thanks to advances in molecular techniques that now allow the analysis of nonculturable microbial communities (27,136,249,293). These microbial communities are often organized into biofilms that may be aggressive, producing pigments and/or mineral-weathering agents that deteriorate the colonized surfaces (169,264,333).…”

The assessment of fungal bioaerosols in the crypt of St. Peter in Perugia (Italy)

“…Their metabolic products cause further chemical damage (Beech, 2004). The capacity of fungi to dissolve carbonates depends on available carbon sources, such as oxalic and citric acids which may mobilize cations with chelating activity (Hirsch et al, 1995;Wollenzien et al, 1995;Milanesi et al, 2006). Fungal organisms, for the large capacity of metabolic adaptation, can colonize and use as a nutritional substrate also synthetic polymers (Lugauskas et al, 2003).…”