The Lascaux Cave contains a remarkable set of paintings from the Upper Palaeolithic. Shortly after discovery in 1940, the cave was modified for public viewing and, in 2001, was invaded by a Fusarium solani species complex. Benzalkonium chloride was used from 2001 to 2004 to eliminate the fungal outbreak. In this study, we carried out a sampling in most of the cave halls and galleries. Sequence analysis and isolation methods detected that the most abundant genera of bacteria were Ralstonia and Pseudomonas. We suggest that, as a result of years of benzalkonium chloride treatments, the indigenous microbial community has been replaced by microbial populations selected by biocide application.
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Microbial diversity and secondary metabolism potential in relation to dark alterations in Paleolithic Lascaux Cave.
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Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on preserving the Etruscan Necropolis of Tarquinia, Italy, which has valuable painted tombs that are threatened by microbial growth.
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Dark-zone alterations expand throughout Paleolithic Lascaux Cave despite spatial heterogeneity of the cave microbiome.
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CNRS, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR5557 Ecologie Microbienne, University of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 Bd du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne, France.
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