Abstract
Climate is recognised to play an important part in influencing the activity of microorganisms on stone in monuments and other objects of cultural value. In the UK and Greece, the numbers and distribution of heterotrophic bacteria were not strongly related to seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall. At Portchester Castle, qualitative changes in bacterial populations have been observed; actinomycetes were found only on decayed stone and dominant on stone from Tell Basta, in semi-arid Egypt. In the Minoan Palace at Petrás and the fortifications of Khaniá, higher counts of halotolerant heterotrophic bacteria were found in sheltered areas on stone showing other biological growths and salt efflorescence. For all monuments, stones of lower mechanical strength supported higher bacterial counts and electron microscopy showed extensive sheets of biofilm. Estimations of carbohydrate in stone could also be related to whether the sites were exposed or protected. There is evidence to suggest that variations in the nature of bacterial populations may be dependent on season in temperate regions and in the Mediterranean climate related to the location within the monument. Biofilm production and perhaps halotolerance provide means by which bacteria resist adverse changes in moisture levels. Extreme fluctuations in moisture may induce major shifts in bacterial populations selecting filamentous, spore-forming types that penetrate deeper into the stone.
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May, E., Papida, S., Abdulla, H., Tayler, S., Dewedar, A. (2000). Comparative Studies of Microbial Communities on Stone Monuments in Temperate and Semi-Arid Climates. In: Ciferri, O., Tiano, P., Mastromei, G. (eds) Of Microbes and Art. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4239-1_4
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