Culturable and unculturable potential heterotrophic microbiological threats to the oldest pyramids of the Memphis necropolis, Egypt

A large percentage of the world's tangible cultural heritage is made from stone; thus, it deteriorates due to physical, chemical, and/or biological factors. The current study explored the microbial community inhabiting two prehistoric sites with high cultural value in the Memphis necropolis of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in microbiology 2023-05, Vol.14, p.1167083-1167083
Main Authors: Rizk, Samah Mohamed, Magdy, Mahmoud, De Leo, Filomena, Werner, Olaf, Rashed, Mohamed Abdel-Salam, Ros, Rosa M, Urzì, Clara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
biodeterioration
cultural heritage
microbial genomics
microbial isolation
Microbiology
rock-inhabiting fungi
tangible monuments
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A large percentage of the world's tangible cultural heritage is made from stone; thus, it deteriorates due to physical, chemical, and/or biological factors. The current study explored the microbial community inhabiting two prehistoric sites with high cultural value in the Memphis necropolis of Egypt (Djoser and Lahun Pyramids) using amplicon-based metabarcoding and culture-dependent isolation methods. Samples were examined by epifluorescent microscopy for biological signs before environmental DNA extraction and cultivation. The metabarcoding analysis identified 644 bacterial species (452 genera) using the 16S rRNA and 204 fungal species (146 genera) using ITS. In comparison with the isolation approach, an additional 28 bacterial species (13 genera) and 34 fungal species (20 genera) were identified. A total of 19 bacterial and 16 fungal species were exclusively culture-dependent, while 92 bacterial and 122 fungal species were culture-independent. The most abundant stone-inhabiting bacteria in the current study were , , and sp., among others. The most abundant rock-inhabiting fungi were and , besides abundant unknown Sporormiaceae species. Based on previous reports, microorganisms associated with biodeterioration were detected on color-altered sites at both pyramids. These microorganisms are potentially dangerous as physical and chemical deterioration factors and require proper conservation plans from a microbiological perspective.
ISSN:1664-302X
1664-302X
DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1167083