A Combined Approach to Assess the Microbial Contamination of the Archimedes Palimpsest

Abstract

A combined approach, using molecular and microscopic techniques, was used to identify the microbiota associated with the Archimedes Palimpsest, an unusual parchment manuscript. SEM analyses revealed the microbial damage to the collagen fibers and the presence of characteristic cell chains typical of filamentous bacteria and fungal spores. Molecular analysis confirmed a homogeneous bacterial community colonizing the manuscript. The phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were associated with this ancient parchment; the sequences were most related to uncultured clones detected in the human skin microbiome and in ephitelium, and to cultivated species of the genera Acinetobacter and Nocardiopsis. Nevertheless, a great variation was observed among the different sampled areas indicating fungal diversity. Blumeria spp. dominated in the healthy areas of the parchment while degraded areas showed disparate fungal communities, with dominant members of the genera Mucor and Cladosporium. In addition, the quantification of the β-actin gene by real-time PCR analyses (qPCR) revealed a higher fungal abundance on degraded areas than on the healthy ones.

Evaluation of a Parchment Document, the 13th Century Incorporation Charter for the City of Krakow, Poland, for Microbial Hazards

“…Based on the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the most dominant groups of bacteria were the Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Paenibacillus genera, which is also consistent with the literature (36,39). The presence of Bacillus species on parchment documents has also been described by Pinar et al (6), who performed phylogenetic identification of the bacterial community. However, the reports found in the literature on this subject contain less information about the species of bacteria than about the species of fungi isolated from parchment documents.…”

“…There were, among others, microbes of the Penicillium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Alternaria, and Chaetomium genera. According to literature reports, the fungal profile obtained constitutes a typical microflora of parchment documents (5,6,18,35,36). The dominating fungal isolates obtained from the surface of the document included P. chrysogenum, which has also been isolated by Krakova et al (36), and C. globosum, previously reported by Mesquita et al (18) and Strzelczyk (21).…”

“…The SEM analysis revealed structural changes as well as the uncovering and destruction of collagen fibers induced by bacterial growth and enzymatic activity. Structural changes caused by the biodeterioration of parchment documents and identified using SEM analysis have been previously described (5,6). The greatest changes were observed for A. lwoffii.…”

“…The problem of microbial hazards of archival items is broadly addressed in the literature (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). Collections of written documents are a particular type of cultural heritage object, since they are carriers of broadly understood historical and cultural knowledge.…”

Amid the possible causes of a very famous foxing: molecular and microscopic insight into Leonardo da Vinci's self‐portrait

“…Sequences derived from cotton swabs that could be detected only on the recto of the drawing (Table 1, Sample CI) were: two clones (2.6% each) affiliated with uncultured Acremonium clones previously detected in an old parchment book (Piñar et al, 2015b) and in biodeteriorated human remains (Piñar et al, 2013) respectively. One additional clone (2.6%) affiliated with an uncultured ascomycete from indoor dust (Pitkäranta et al, 2008).…”