Life on the wall: the diversity and activity of microbes on 13th – century AD. Lan Na mural painting

Diverse microorganisms from the three domains of life (Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryota) cause deterioration in mural paintings worldwide; however, few studies have simultaneously targeted these domains. This study aims to survey microbiome its potential for biodeterioration on unpreserved Lan Na Sean Khan temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand. The overview archaeal, bacterial, fungal communities was reported by Illumina sequencing, whereas revealed culturable techniques a literature search. abundant microbes this were also found other ancient worldwide. Halococcus , salt-tolerant archaeon, as well eubacterial genus Crossiella dominated prokaryotic community. On hand, main group Candida ( Ascomycota ). However, low number fungi bacteria isolated. Most isolates showed ability survive drought conditions but could not perform discoloration activities. activity mainly affected calcium compounds, which are components painting substrates. Aspergillus several bacterial dissolve only Trichaptum species induce crystal formation. These results suggest that substrate should be taken into consideration addition color paintings. For plaster is prime target biodeterioration, thus we preservation effort focus component painting.