ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the principal features of cyanobacterial component of microbial phototrophic communities deteriorating stone monuments. Problems connected with the application of molecular techniques to cyanobacterial community structure analysis, isolates classification, and speciation are reviewed together with a short illustration of the main achievements obtained in the studies of heterotrophic microorganisms deteriorating object of art. The oxygenic members, namely algae and cyanobacteria, occupy a wide range of freshwater, terrestrial and marine biotopes. The occurrence of phototrophic microorganisms on stone monuments has been recognised very frequently and many cyanobacteria, green microalgae and diatoms are identified and reported. The cyanobacteria, commonly known as cyanophyta or blue-green algae, are a morphologically diverse group of phototrophic prokaryotes that possess the ability to synthesize chlorophyll a and phycobilin pigments. Cyanobacteria have been traditionally treated as an algal phylum owing to their ability to perform oxygenic photosynthesis like that of higher plants.