Identification of microbial taxa involved in cultural heritage deterioration and able to produce health hazardous substances by molecular techniques.

Abstract

Fungi and bacterial, wide-spread in biosphere environments, are the main microorganisms related to the deterioration of cultural assets but, moreover, complex microbial communities may emit mixed aerosol into indoor air. In this study the microbial colonization is investigated from to point of view, conservation of cultural heritage and related potential illness to visitors or professionals. The sampling was performed by non-destructive procedures on works of art surfaces, and by the gelatin membrane filter method (Sartorius) for aerosol. The identification of microbial taxa was performed by molecular analyses based on PCR, sequencing, sequence comparison techniques and, particularly for fungi identification, we report the development of a microarray method. Specific oligonucleotide probes targeted to internal transcribed spacer of rRNA genes, were designed in order to set up a rapid and simple identification method. We focused the attention on fungal species, related to cultural asset deterioration and able to produce and release toxic substances. Under this light, the characterization of microbial consortium and the related metabolic activities are essential for understanding if the conservation procedure is convenient, outlining the possible risk for both works of arts and operators/visitors.