ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Microorganisms cause problems in the conservation of cultural heritage due to their biodeteriorative potential and due to their potential risk for human health. Due to their enormous physiological and ecological versatility fungi, archaea and bacteria are able to conquer all types of historic artefacts in public buildings, museums, private art collections and in the open environment. The variety of biodeterioration phenomena observed on materials of cultural heritage is determined by several factors, such as the chemical composition and nature of the material itself, the climate and exposure of the object, in addition to the manner and frequency of surface cleaning and housekeeping in museums. This study summarizes the most important biodeterioration phenomena observed on different materials. Moreover, it is the aim of this publication to open a discussion about the limitations of preservation, the fight against biodeterioration and about new emerging methods that might enable us to get a step forward in our understanding about the cellular functions and mechanisms of biodeteriorative microbial communities.
