Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Molecular Biology Methods to Assess Microbiological Hazard Concerning Objects of Cultural Heritage

Tomasz Lech

Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 1–9 · Published 24 Jul 2015

10.9734/BMRJ/2015/19535

Abstract

Microorganisms present in the environment pose a considerable hazard to historical objects and works of art. They are capable of settling on objects, and due to their ability to produce various enzymes, they can actively destroy these special objects, the poor preservation of which additionally facilitates degradation. In order to prevent biodeterioration of cultural heritage objects it is essential to maintain adequate physical conditions in the environment in which they are stored. It is also significant to monitor their microbiological condition both for quantity and diversity of microorganisms. Methods based on molecular biology enable a rapid and more accurate analysis of the microbiological condition in such environments thus allowing early intervention of a conservator. Nevertheless, the conventional microbiological methods must not be depreciated, but rather supplemented with novel solutions. The aim of this paper is to present the application of advanced methods of molecular biology in combination with methods of conventional microbiology in a quantitative and qualitative analysis of microorganisms present on the surfaces of historical objects and in environments in which they are stored.

Microbiology biodeterioration decomposition PCR historical objects

Cited by 8

Microbial biodeterioration of cultural heritage and identification of the active agents over the last two decades

Tereza Branysova, K. Demnerova, M. Ďurovič · Journal of Cultural Heritage · 2022

Indoor and outdoor microbiological air quality in naturally and mechanically ventilated university libraries

Ahmad Hassan, M. Zeeshan, M. F. Bhatti · Atmospheric pollution research · 2021

Indoor air fungal pollution of a historical museum, Egypt: a case study

A. Awad, Y. Saeed, A. Shakour · Aerobiologia · 2020

Air microbial quality in certain public buildings, Egypt: A comparative study

A. Awad, Y. Saeed, Y. Hassan · Atmospheric pollution research · 2018

Fungi-Destructors of Painting Materials Isolated in the State Tretyakov Gallery as Novel Promising Producers of Antimicrobial Compounds

A. A. Ermolyuk, D. A. Avdanina, F. S. Koblov · Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology · 2025

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

0

Page views

0

PDF downloads

0

Outbound clicks

8

Citations

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

No views recorded yet.

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

No traffic recorded yet.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.