Molecular identification of fungal species from deteriorated old Chinese manuscripts in Central Library Universitas Indonesia

Abstract

Diverse fungi were the potential cause of deterioration of written heritage. The old Chinese manuscripts from Central Library Universitas Indonesia showed biodeterioration by fungi. This study was conducted to identify eleven fungal strains from four deteriorated old Chinese manuscripts from Central Library UI by molecular identification using nucleotide sequences of the ITS regions of ribosomal DNA. PCR and DNA sequencing were performed using forward primer ITS5 and reverse primer ITS4. Homology search of ITS rDNA sequences was carried out using basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) program. Full sequences of fungal strain ITS rDNAs were obtained from contig sequences using Chromas Pro 1.7.7 application. Only two fungal strains could be determined to species level. UICC 1099 strain showed 99.4% homology to one type strain, Aspergillus pseudodeflectus NRRL 6135T. UICC 1101 strain showed 99.8 % homology to one type strain, Penicillium coffeae NRRL 35363T. Nine strains showed homology (85–100%) to more than one type strain as follows: UICC 1100 strain showed homology greater than 99% to three type strains of Aspergillus. UICC 1102 strain showed homology greater than 99% to two type strains of Aspergillus. UICC 1103 strain showed homology greater than 99% to five type strains of Cladosporium. UICC 1104 strain showed homology (92–97%) to three type strains of Sarocladium and Phaeoacremonium. UICC 1105 showed homology (92–93%) to four type strains of Curvularia and Bipolaris. UICC 1106 strain showed homology (99–100%) to five type strains of Cladosporium. UICC 1107 showed homology (95–99%) to three type strains of Paecilomyces and Purpureocillium. UICC 1108 strain showed homology (92–94%) to four type strains of Curvularia and Bipolaris. UICC 1109 strain showed homology (85%) to four type strains of Fusarium and Rectifusarium. Molecular phylogenetic analysis is required to determine the species identities of these strains.