Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment

To overcome the limitations of traditional conservation treatments used for protection and consolidation of stone and lime mortars and plasters, mostly based on polymers or alkoxysilanes, a novel treatment based on the activation of indigenous carbonatogenic bacteria has been recently proposed and a...

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Main Authors: Fadwa Jroundi, Kerstin Elert, Encarnación Ruiz-Agudo, María Teresa Gonzalez-Muñoz, Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.599144/full
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author Fadwa Jroundi
Kerstin Elert
Encarnación Ruiz-Agudo
María Teresa Gonzalez-Muñoz
Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro
author_facet Fadwa Jroundi
Kerstin Elert
Encarnación Ruiz-Agudo
María Teresa Gonzalez-Muñoz
Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro
author_sort Fadwa Jroundi
collection DOAJ
description To overcome the limitations of traditional conservation treatments used for protection and consolidation of stone and lime mortars and plasters, mostly based on polymers or alkoxysilanes, a novel treatment based on the activation of indigenous carbonatogenic bacteria has been recently proposed and applied both in the laboratory and in situ. Despite very positive results, little is known regarding its effect on the evolution of the indigenous bacterial communities, specially under hot and humid tropical conditions where proliferation of microorganisms is favored, as it is the case of the Maya area. Here, we studied changes in bacterial diversity of severely degraded tuff stone and lime plaster at the archeological Maya site of Copan (Honduras) after treatment with the patented sterile M-3P nutritional solution. High-throughput sequencing by Illumina MiSeq technology shows significant changes in the bacterial population of the treated stones, enhancing the development of Arthrobacter, Micrococcaceae, Nocardioides, Fictibacillus, and Streptomyces, and, in one case, Rubrobacter (carved stone blocks at Structure 18). In the lime plaster, Arthrobacter, Fictibacillus, Bacillus, Agrococcus, and Microbacterium dominated after treatment. Most of these detected genera have been shown to promote calcium carbonate biomineralization, thus implying that the novel bio-conservation treatment would be effective. Remarkably, the treatment induced the reduction or complete disappearance of deleterious acid-producing bacteria such as Marmoricola or the phylum Acidobacteria. The outcome of this study demonstrates that such a bio-conservation treatment can safely and effectively be applied on temples, sculptures and stuccos of the Maya area and, likely, in other hot and humid environments.
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spelling doaj.art-439fb7570eb9493abf05513cb4f366992022-12-21T19:22:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2020-11-011110.3389/fmicb.2020.599144599144Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation TreatmentFadwa Jroundi0Kerstin Elert1Encarnación Ruiz-Agudo2María Teresa Gonzalez-Muñoz3Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro4Department of Microbiology, University of Granada, Granada, SpainDepartment of Mineralogy and Petrology, University of Granada, Granada, SpainDepartment of Mineralogy and Petrology, University of Granada, Granada, SpainDepartment of Microbiology, University of Granada, Granada, SpainDepartment of Mineralogy and Petrology, University of Granada, Granada, SpainTo overcome the limitations of traditional conservation treatments used for protection and consolidation of stone and lime mortars and plasters, mostly based on polymers or alkoxysilanes, a novel treatment based on the activation of indigenous carbonatogenic bacteria has been recently proposed and applied both in the laboratory and in situ. Despite very positive results, little is known regarding its effect on the evolution of the indigenous bacterial communities, specially under hot and humid tropical conditions where proliferation of microorganisms is favored, as it is the case of the Maya area. Here, we studied changes in bacterial diversity of severely degraded tuff stone and lime plaster at the archeological Maya site of Copan (Honduras) after treatment with the patented sterile M-3P nutritional solution. High-throughput sequencing by Illumina MiSeq technology shows significant changes in the bacterial population of the treated stones, enhancing the development of Arthrobacter, Micrococcaceae, Nocardioides, Fictibacillus, and Streptomyces, and, in one case, Rubrobacter (carved stone blocks at Structure 18). In the lime plaster, Arthrobacter, Fictibacillus, Bacillus, Agrococcus, and Microbacterium dominated after treatment. Most of these detected genera have been shown to promote calcium carbonate biomineralization, thus implying that the novel bio-conservation treatment would be effective. Remarkably, the treatment induced the reduction or complete disappearance of deleterious acid-producing bacteria such as Marmoricola or the phylum Acidobacteria. The outcome of this study demonstrates that such a bio-conservation treatment can safely and effectively be applied on temples, sculptures and stuccos of the Maya area and, likely, in other hot and humid environments.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.599144/fullMaya areabacterial diversitybioconsolidation treatmentnutritional mediumcarbonatogenic bacteriatuff stone
spellingShingle Fadwa Jroundi
Kerstin Elert
Encarnación Ruiz-Agudo
María Teresa Gonzalez-Muñoz
Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro
Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment
Frontiers in Microbiology
Maya area
bacterial diversity
bioconsolidation treatment
nutritional medium
carbonatogenic bacteria
tuff stone
title Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment
title_full Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment
title_fullStr Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment
title_full_unstemmed Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment
title_short Bacterial Diversity Evolution in Maya Plaster and Stone Following a Bio-Conservation Treatment
title_sort bacterial diversity evolution in maya plaster and stone following a bio conservation treatment
topic Maya area
bacterial diversity
bioconsolidation treatment
nutritional medium
carbonatogenic bacteria
tuff stone
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.599144/full
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