Microbially induced deterioration of architectural heritages: routes and mechanisms involved

Dakal, Tikam Chand; Cameotra, Swaranjit Singh

doi:10.1186/2190-4715-24-36

Environmental Sciences Europe

Table 2 Major biodeteriogens of the historic monuments and artworks

From: Microbially induced deterioration of architectural heritages: routes and mechanisms involved

S.No.	Monuments and artworks	Examples	City/Country	Microbe(s)involved in deterioration	Mechanism of deterioration	Ref.
1	Catacombs	Abbatija tad-Dejr	Rabat, Malta	Cyanobacteria and Microalgae	Biofilm formation and filament growth inside pores and cracks resulting in biophysical damage.	[12]
		Roman Catacomb	Italy	Actinobacteria and Fungi	Biofilm formation	[41]
		St. Paul’s Catacombs	Rabat, Malta	Fischerella, Leptolyngbya, Actinobacteria and Coccus	Biofilm formation as a result of artificial light source	[12]
		Palaeo-Christian Catacombs	Rabat, Malta	Cyanobacteria	Biofilm formation	[12]
2	Cathedral	Cathedral of Camerino	Macerata, Italy	Micrococcus sp., Alcaligenes sp. and Flavobacterium	Carbonate dissolution and color alteration	[54]
		Cathedral of Salamanca and Toledo	Salamanca and Toledo in Spain	Chlorophyta, Cyanobacteria and Fungi	Biofilm formation	[8]
		Cathedral of Salamanca	Salamanca, Spain	Penicillium, Fusarium Cladosporium, Phoma, and Trichoderma	Acid secretion and bioweathering	[55]
		Cathedral of Toledo	Toledo, Spain	Stichococcus bacillaris	Biofilms and patina of different colors	[4]
		Lund Cathedral	Lund, Sweden	Microcoleus vaginatus and Klebsormidium flaccidum	Biofilm formation	[2, 3]
		Milan Cathedral	Milan, Italy	Cladosporium sp.	Damage to monument and previously applied protective acrylic resin	[56]
3	Caves	The Painted Cave of Lascaux	France	Fusarium solani	Human activity resulted in alteration in cave environment and introduction of fungi	[57]
4	Chapel	Chapel of Castle Herberstein	Styria, Austria	Acremonium, Engyodontium, Cladosporium, Blastobotrys, Verticillium, Mortierella, Aspergillus and Penicillium	Accumulation of moisture and growth of fungi	[58]
		Chapel of Sistine, Italy	Sistine, Italy	Bracteacoccus minor	Biofilm and green patina formation	[59]
		Chapel of St. Virgil	Vienna, Austria	Halococcus and Halobacterium.	Salt efflorescences	[9]
5	Church	Carrascosa del Campo Church	Cuenca, Spain	Algae, Heterotrophic Bacteria and	Organic acid secretion, and	[60];
				Fungi (Penicillium and Fusarium) and Mosses	decomposition and humification of stones	[61]
		Vilar de Frades church	Barcelos, Portugal	Rubrobacter	Biofilm formation, hyphae penetration in the painted layers resulting into pitting, detachment, cracking and loss of the paint	([62, 63]
		St Maria church	Alcala de Henares, Spain	Bacillus, Micrococcus and Thiobacillus, yeast and microalgae of the Apatococcus	Crust formation	[11]
		Magistral church	Alcala de Henares, Spain	Algae and bacteria	Biofilm formation	[11]
		Parish Church of St. Georgen	Styria, Austria	Acremonium, Engyodontium, Cladosporium, Blastobotrys, Verticillium Mortierella, Aspergillus and Penicillium	Prolonged dampness, salt and fungal growth	[58]
6	Fountains	Bibatauín Fountain	Granada, Spain	Microalgae	Biofilm formation	[17]
		Fountain of Patio de la Lindaraja	Granada, Spain	Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Fungi and Diatoms (Navicula spp)	Green patina and Biofilm	[31]
		Fountain of Patio de la Sultana	Granada, Spain	Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Fungi and Diatoms (Navicula spp)	Various colored patina and Biofilm	[17]
		Fountains of the Alhambra	Granada, Spain	Algae	Excessive mineralization leading to change in texture and composition	[64]
		The Haji Mehmet Fountain at Rustempasa Bazaar, Erzurum, Turkey	Erzurum, Turkey	Bacteria and fungi	Interaction of microorganism with air pollutants like SO₂, NO₂ etc. and biofilm formation on stone surface	[5]
		Lions Fountain at the Alhambra Palace	Granada, Spain	Protebacteria, Chlamydiae and Verrucomicrobia	Biofouling and Biocorrosion	[16]
		Robba’s fountain statues	Ljubljana, Slovenia	Endolithic green algae and cyanobacteria	Black crust formation	[15]
		Tacca’s Fountains	Florence, Italy	Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Fungi and Diatoms (Navicula spp)	Green and brown biofilm	[17]
7	Monastery	Santa Clara-a-Velha Monastery	Coimbra, Portugal	Chlorella	Biofilm formation	[65]
8	Mosque	The Lalapasa Mosque, The Erzurum Castle Mosque, The Double Minarets- Madrasah, The Great Mosque	Erzurum, Turkey	Bacteria and fungi	Interaction of microorganism with air pollutants like SO₂, NO₂ etc. and biofilm formation ob stone surface	[5]
9	Palace	Ajuda National Palace	Lisbon, Portugal	Chroococcidiopsis	Biofilm formation	[65]
10	Pyramids	Caestius Pyramid	Rome, Italy	Cyanobacteria: Myxosarcina concinna, Calothrys marchica var. crassa, Phormidium foveolarum, Synechococcus sp.; Green Algae: Chlorocuccum sp.; Fungi: Cladosporium cladosporioides and Alternaria alternata and Lichens	Pitting	[14]
11	Statues	Baboli Garden Statues	Florence, Italy	Chroococcidiopsis, Leptolyngbya, Pleurocapsa, Coccomyxa and Apatococcus	Polysaccharides secretion and biofilm formation	[32]
11		Terracotta statue from the Pardon Gate	Cathedral of Seville, Seville, Spain	Phormidium sp. and Klebsormidium flaccidum	Green and black sulfated-crust and Biofilm formation	[17]
13	Tombs	Etruscan Mercareccia Tomb	Italy	Mixed population of bacteria and fungi	Stone carbonate solubilization	[13]
13		Servilia and Postumio Tombs in the Roman Necropolis of Carmona, Spain	Seville, Spain	Rubrobacter	Hyphae penetration in the painted layers resulting into pitting, detachment, cracking and loss of the paint	[63]
14	Towers	Orologio Tower	Martano, Italy	Chlorella	Biofilm formation	[65]
14		Pisa Tower, Italy	Pisa, Italy	Sporotrichum	Oxalate formation	[66]
15	Walls	Lungotevere walls	Rome, Italy	Chroococcus lithophiles	Biodeterioration	[67]

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