An overview of techniques for the characterization and quantification of microbial colonization on stone monuments

Agnes Mihajlovski (1) , Damien Seyer (1) , Hayette Benamara (1) , Faisl Bousta (2) , Patrick Di Martino (1)

1 ERRMECe - Equipe de recherche sur les relations matrice extracellulaire-cellules
2 LRMH - Laboratoire de recherche des monuments historiques

Biodeterioration can be defined as any undesired change of the properties of a material having an economic, historical or artistic value caused by biological activity of living organisms. The biodeterioration of stone materials is related to the production of pigments (aesthetic action), to cell metabolism (biochemical action) and to the mechanical action of the biomass colonizing the material during its growth (physical action). Quantification of the sessile biomass and characterization of microbial communities colonizing stone are essential first steps to ensure the diagnosis of biodeterioration processes and to implement control strategies and appropriate treatment. Different destructive and non-destructive approaches can be used to sample stone specimens to study microbial colonization and biodeterioration of monuments: scraping, swab using, and cutting. Different methods can be used depending on the type of microorganism sought: determination of chlorophyll content and colour measurements for pigmented microorganisms; bacterial quantification by confocal laser scanning microscopy observations after CTC staining for active biomass; classical microbiological methods, which consist in cultivation of microorganisms on synthetic media. Molecular methods for the study of microbial biodiversity based on the polymorphism of molecular markers are now widely used in many areas, but little bibliographic data exist regarding the application of these methods to the analysis of microbial flora responsible for colonization and deterioration of building stone. The aim of this review is to present the different biodeterioration mechanisms with a particular focus on the techniques that can be used to characterize and quantify the biodeterioration biomass.

Mots clés: Biodeterioration; Stone; Monument; Microorganisms; Biofilm

Domaines: Microbiologie et Parasitologie; Biodiversité et Ecologie

Agnes Mihajlovski, Damien Seyer, Hayette Benamara, Faisl Bousta, Patrick Di Martino. An overview of techniques for the characterization and quantification of microbial colonization on stone monuments. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 2014, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13213-014-0956-2. ⟨10.1007/s13213-014-0956-2⟩. ⟨hal-01149635⟩