Prokaryotic biodeteriogens of library goods parchment

Parchment is a semi-solid matrix of collagen produced with animal skin (sheep, goat) consisting of the outermost layer of the dermis, an attractive source of food for the microbial biodeteriogens. Researchers from the Department of Biology have analyzed the causes of biodeterioration of parchment book assets through identification and characterization of prokaryotic biodeteriogens (bacteria and archaea) through Next Generation Sequencing, bioinformatic analysis of metagenomic data and of the structure and community composition.

With the creation of the ISIS@MACH Node the team intend to expand this approach and apply it to natural (e.g. marine) and associated microbial communities to humans, in order to maximize the monitoring of modern and exogenous DNA contamination and to study a large number of artefacts simultaneously and quickly. The project includes new experimental proposals to be submitted – through the platform  “apply for beamtime ” – both to ISIS@MACH, and to ISIS neutron beamlines, using the complementary neutron techniques of the TOSCA, MAPS, IMAT beamlines.

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