PMID- 35078581 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20220304 LR - 20220304 IS - 1878-6146 (Print) VI - 126 IP - 2 DP - 2022 Feb TI - Biodeterioration and cellulolytic activity by fungi isolated from a nineteenth-century painting at the National Theatre of Costa Rica. PG - 101-112 LID - S1878-6146(21)00138-0 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.funbio.2021.11.001 [doi] AB - Living organisms can induce deterioration of cultural heritage. Conservation strategies aimed at avoiding damage and aiding restoration, require a comprehensive knowledge of structure, chemical composition, and identity of microorganisms that colonize artworks. The National Theatre of Costa Rica (NTCR), a building with historic architecture, houses several oil paintings from the nineteenth century, some with visible signs of biodeterioration. One of them is a large format painting on canvas called La Danza (size 9.83 x 5.13 m) from 1896 by Italian artist Vespasiano Bignami, located on the ceiling of the theatre's foyer. In the present study, we undertook a physicochemical and microbiological study of La Danza to identify the fungal species that inhabit the artwork and are responsible for the damage observed. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopic data indicated that the canvas material is made of hemp, the binder contains linseed oil and lead white, and a material in the inner face of the canvas is mainly composed of beeswax. Fungi were isolated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar, and then identified with molecular (BTUB, nrDNA ITS, and TEF1 regions) and morphological methods. Four isolates belonging to the genera Myxospora, Pestalotiopsis, Ustilago, and aff. Penicillium, were obtained. Qualitative tests showed cellulolytic activity in all isolated specimens, confirming their possible role in biodeterioration of the canvas. Phylogenetic and morphological data revealed a new species of Myxospora we name here as Myxospora theatro sp. nov., in reference to NTCR. The findings broaden the knowledge of fungi capable of inhabiting and damaging cultural heritage. They also provide valuable information to develop strategies for conservation and restoration of oil paintings on canvas. CI - Copyright (c) 2021 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. FAU - Vieto, Sofia AU - Vieto S AD - Centro Nacional de Innovaciones Biotecnologicas (CENIBiot), CeNAT-CONARE, 1174-1200 San Jose, Costa Rica. FAU - Escudero-Leyva, Efrain AU - Escudero-Leyva E AD - Centro Nacional de Innovaciones Biotecnologicas (CENIBiot), CeNAT-CONARE, 1174-1200 San Jose, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Escuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica. FAU - Avendano, Roberto AU - Avendano R AD - Centro Nacional de Innovaciones Biotecnologicas (CENIBiot), CeNAT-CONARE, 1174-1200 San Jose, Costa Rica. FAU - Rechnitzer, Noelia AU - Rechnitzer N AD - Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica. FAU - Barrantes-Madrigal, Melissa D AU - Barrantes-Madrigal MD AD - Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigacion en Ciencia e Ingenieria de Materiales (CICIMA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica; Instituto de Investigaciones en Arte (IIArte), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica. FAU - Conejo-Barboza, Geraldine AU - Conejo-Barboza G AD - Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigacion en Ciencia e Ingenieria de Materiales (CICIMA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica; Instituto de Investigaciones en Arte (IIArte), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica. FAU - Herrera-Sancho, Oscar A AU - Herrera-Sancho OA AD - Centro de Investigacion en Ciencia e Ingenieria de Materiales (CICIMA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica; Instituto de Investigaciones en Arte (IIArte), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Escuela de Fisica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigacion en Ciencias Atomicas Nucleares y Moleculares (CICANUM), Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose, 2060 Costa Rica. FAU - Chaverri, Priscila AU - Chaverri P AD - Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Escuela de Biologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica. Electronic address: priscila.chaverriechandi@ucr.ac.cr. FAU - Chavarria, Max AU - Chavarria M AD - Centro Nacional de Innovaciones Biotecnologicas (CENIBiot), CeNAT-CONARE, 1174-1200 San Jose, Costa Rica; Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica; Escuela de Quimica, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060 San Jose, Costa Rica. Electronic address: max.chavarria@ucr.ac.cr. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20211105 PL - Netherlands TA - Fungal Biol JT - Fungal biology JID - 101524465 SB - IM MH - Costa Rica MH - Fungi MH - *Paintings/history MH - *Penicillium MH - Phylogeny OTO - NOTNLM OT - Art conservation OT - Biodeterioration OT - Cultural heritage OT - Myxospora OT - National theatre of Costa Rica COIS- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. EDAT- 2022/01/27 06:00 MHDA- 2022/03/05 06:00 CRDT- 2022/01/26 05:27 PHST- 2021/09/12 00:00 [received] PHST- 2021/10/21 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2021/11/01 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2022/01/26 05:27 [entrez] PHST- 2022/01/27 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2022/03/05 06:00 [medline] AID - S1878-6146(21)00138-0 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.funbio.2021.11.001 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Fungal Biol. 2022 Feb;126(2):101-112. doi: 10.1016/j.funbio.2021.11.001. Epub 2021 Nov 5.