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Biofilm architecture on different substrates of an Oculatella subterranea (Cyanobacteria) strain isolated from Pompeii archaeological site (Italy)

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Abstract

The Cyanobacterium Oculatella subterranea Zammit, Billi, Albertano inhabits hypogea and stone caves and is a pioneer of different stone substrata. In this study, a strain isolated from the House of Marco Castricio (Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Italy) was identified by a polyphasic approach and used for an in vitro colonization test to verify the influence of the substrate on the biofilm architecture. Fine structure of O. subterranea microbial mats was revealed as well as filaments orientation toward light source. This aim has been achieved through confocal laser scanner microscope microscopy and computer image analysis. Moreover, bioreceptivity of five different substrates, commonly retrieved in archaeological sites of Campania, was assessed for O. subterranea. Our results show that the three-dimensional structure of O. subterranea microbial mats is poorly affected by physical and geochemical features of substrates: in fact, the porous architecture of its biofilm was preserved, independently of the materials. On the other hand, the area/perimeter ratio relative to the O. subterranea growth on tuff, brick, and porphyry showed significant differences, indicating dissimilar levels of bioreceptivity of the three substrates.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are particularly grateful for the precious assistance given by Dr. Claudia Di Benedetto for the characterization of lithic substrates. The authors also thank the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and particularly Dr. De Carolis for the kind guidance and support. The authors gratefully acknowledge Benedetto De Fazio for his valuable technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant’Angelo, Via Cintia, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Angelo Del Mondo, Gabriele Pinto, Dora Allegra Carbone, Antonino Pollio & Antonino De Natale

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  1. Angelo Del Mondo
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  2. Gabriele Pinto
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  3. Dora Allegra Carbone
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  4. Antonino Pollio
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  5. Antonino De Natale
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Correspondence to Angelo Del Mondo.

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Responsible editor: Robert Duran

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Fig. S1

Detail of the five different substrata: brick (A-D), glass paste (E-H), limestone (I-L), NYT (M-P) and porphyry Q-T). Macro photographs (A, E, I, M, Q - scale bar 1 mm), single X-ray image (B, F, J, N, R - scale bar 0.2 mm), 3D reconstruction (C, G, K, O, S - scale bar 2 μm), porosity distribution between 0-280 μm in depth (D, H, L, P, T). (PNG 10835 kb)

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Table S3

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Fig. S4

Amount of filament in direction between -90° and +90° on brick (A, B), NYT (C, D) and porphyry (E, F). Scale bar 50 μm (PNG 2164 kb)

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Del Mondo, A., Pinto, G., Carbone, D.A. et al. Biofilm architecture on different substrates of an Oculatella subterranea (Cyanobacteria) strain isolated from Pompeii archaeological site (Italy). Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 26079–26089 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2643-5

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