Abstract
Black patinas are very common biological deterioration phenomena on lapideous artworks in outdoor environments. These substrates, exposed to sunlight, and atmospheric and environmental agents (i.e. wind and temperature changes), represent extreme environments that can only be colonized by highly versatile and adaptable microorganisms. Black patinas comprise a wide variety of microorganisms, but the morphological plasticity of most of these microorganisms hinders their identification by optical microscopy. This study used Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) (including shotgun and amplicon sequencing) to characterize the black patina of the travertine embankments (muraglioni) of the Tiber River in Rome (Italy). Overall, the sequencing highlighted the rich diversity of bacterial and fungal communities and allowed the identification of more than one hundred taxa. NGS confirmed the relevance of coccoid and filamentous cyanobacteria observed by optical microscopy and revealed an informative landscape of the fungal community underlining the presence of microcolonial fungi and phylloplane yeasts. For the first time high-throughput sequencing allowed the exploration of the expansive diversity of bacteria in black patina, which has so far been overlooked in routine analyses. Furthermore, the identification of euendolithic microorganisms and weathering agents underlines the biodegradative role of black patina, which has often been underestimated. Therefore, the use of NGS to characterize black patinas could be useful in choosing appropriate conservation treatments and in the monitoring of stone colonization after the restoration interventions.
Highlights
Light microscope (Leica DM RB) observations of black patina samples revealed the presence of bacteria, cyanobacteria, chlorophyta and, fungi
It is important to note that the complete overview of the black patina composition obtained with NextGeneration Sequencing (NGS) is unique compared to the results reported in literature
The method allowed for the collection of extensive information on the total microbial community comprising microorganisms which have far been underestimated or neglected in analyses routinely carried out in studies of stone artifacts
Summary
The first aim of the present study was to test high-throughput sequencing with Illumina platforms (Miseq and Nextseq) for the characterization of the black patina of the travertine embankments of the Tiber River in Rome (Italy). The second aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of this molecular technique by comparing it to a traditional method routinely used for the characterization of biological colonization of artworks
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