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Lead soaps formation and biodiversity in a XVIII Century wax seal coloured with minium
Author(s) -
Šoltys Katarína,
Planý Matej,
Biocca Paola,
Vianello Valentina,
Bučková Mária,
Puškárová Andrea,
Sclocchi Maria Carla,
Colaizzi Piero,
Bicchieri Marina,
Pangallo Domenico,
Pinzari Flavia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.14735
Subject(s) - biology , wax , biochemistry
Summary A multidisciplinary approach was carried out in order to study the biodeterioration and the associated microbiome of a XVIII Century wax seal coloured with minium. A small wax seal fragment was observed by scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy in non‐destructive mode. The same object was analysed by Raman and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The identification of the microbiota growing on the seal was performed with both a culture‐dependent strategy, combined with hydrolytic assays, and high‐throughput sequencing using the MinION platform. The whole bacterial 16S rRNA gene and the fungal markers ITS and 28S rRNA were targeted. It was observed that the carnauba wax coloured with lead tetroxide (minium) was covered by a biofilm consisting of a network of filaments and other structures of microbial origin. The culture‐dependent and culture‐independent investigations showed the presence of a complex microbiota composed mainly by fungal members, which demonstrated interesting properties related to lipids and lead processing. The formation of lead soaps and secondary biogenic minerals was also described.