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Isolation and molecular identification of a strain belonging to the new species Zalaria obscura from a deteriorated wooden artwork

  • Environmental Microbiology - Short Communication
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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Division of Pharmacology and Hygiene, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Via S. Chiara 27, 61029, Urbino, Italy

    Luigia Sabatini, Francesco Palma & Raffaella Campana

  2. Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

    Luca Giorgi & Letizia Andreazzo

Authors
  1. Luigia Sabatini
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  2. Francesco Palma
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  3. Luca Giorgi
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  4. Letizia Andreazzo
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  5. Raffaella Campana
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Correspondence to Raffaella Campana.

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Responsible Editor: Derlene Attili Agellis.

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Sabatini, L., Palma, F., Giorgi, L. et al. Isolation and molecular identification of a strain belonging to the new species Zalaria obscura from a deteriorated wooden artwork. Braz J Microbiol 51, 1241–1246 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-020-00255-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-020-00255-8

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