Isolation and molecular identification of a strain belonging to the new species Zalaria obscura from a deteriorated wood
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ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY - SHORT COMMUNICATION
Isolation and molecular identification of a strain belonging to the new species Zalaria obscura from a deteriorated wooden artwork Luigia Sabatini 1 & Francesco Palma 1 & Luca Giorgi 2 & Letizia Andreazzo 2 & Raffaella Campana 1 Received: 3 December 2019 / Accepted: 28 February 2020 # Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia 2020
Abstract We report the case of an outdoor deteriorated wooden sculpture of Madonna, completely blackened in the face, and thus suspected of fungal attack. A multi-disciplinary approach, including microbiological analysis, molecular biology, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, was applied to understand the real nature of the observed alteration. FT-IR showed that the blackening was due to the application of a natural terpene resin subjected to alteration over time. The microbiological assay allowed to isolate a particular black fungus that has been recovered in the vegetative phase, growing as the only species adapted to the examined substrate. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer) region sequence identified the fungus (LS31012019) as Zalaria obscura, a black yeast belonging to the new genus Zalaria, family Dothideales. Overall, this study evidenced the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to understand the real causes of observed deterioration of artworks. More interestingly, the recovery of a strain identified as Z. obscura from this type of substrate is never reported in the literature and this finding could offer the possibility to investigate the role of this microorganism in the deterioration process of cultural heritage. Keywords Artwork . Deterioration process . Multidisciplinary approach . Identification . Zalaria obscura
Introduction Cultural heritage has an inestimable value in historical, artistic, and cultural terms for each generation [1]. However, no material can be considered insusceptible to microbial attack since organic and inorganic materials of artworks often represent suitable environment for microbial colonization, which consequently esthetic and, in some cases, structural damages [2]. In the literature, it has been well reported the damage of monuments, mural paintings, and frescoes due to different microorganisms [3–5], while few studies related to canvas
Responsible Editor: Derlene Attili Agellis. * Raffaella Campana [email protected] 1
Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Division of Pharmacology and Hygiene, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Via S. Chiara 27, 61029 Urbino, Italy
2
Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
[6, 7] or wood artworks have been described [8]. Fungi represent the principal actors of wood degradation in terrestrial sites because these are able to degrade cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin [9]. These microorganisms can be divided in three categories on the basis of the produced wood decay. The first two groups of fungi are taxonomically classified as Basidi
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