Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Cultural Heritage, cilt.76, ss.307-316, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, AHCI, Scopus)
Cultural heritage objects reflect the social memory of humanity, making their protection essential. Fungal colonization is widely acknowledged as a principal agent of deterioration in historical manuscripts (HMs). However, standardized sampling and analysis protocols that integrate both culture-based and culture-independent approaches to accurately reflect in situ fungal diversity, along with the identification of the most suitable culture media, have not yet been comprehensively established. This persistent knowledge gap not only highlights the limited understanding of fungal-induced biodegradation in historical manuscripts but also critically hampers the development of targeted, evidence-based preventive measures for priceless collections that already exhibit fungal staining and cellulose degradation. This study aimed to (i) characterize the total fungal community in deteriorated HMs found in the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library using both culture-independent and culture-dependent approaches, (ii) assess the effect of different sampling methods and media selection on the identification of fungal biota, and (iii) screen for extracellular enzymes associated with HMs deterioration. In essence, this research moves beyond descriptive fungal inventories to deliver a methodological blueprint for future assessments, enabling the development of more accurate, microbiologically informed conservation strategies for invaluable historical manuscript collections by highlighting the critical impact of sampling and media choices on biodiversity data. To achieve the objectives, 10 deteriorated HMs were sampled by swab (S) and membrane filter methods. Fungal community was analyzed by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The fungal load in HMs was determined using both dichloran glycerol 18 (DG18) and malt extract agar media, and fungi were isolated. All isolates were screened for producing cellulase, amylase, and gelatinase, and also identified by molecular methods. In both DGGE and culture-dependent analyses of HMs, Aspergillus was the predominant genus, with A. halophilicus most frequently detected by DGGE and A. versicolor predominantly identified through culture-dependent methods. The S method proved more effective in recovering fungal communities. Moreover, combining different media enhanced the detection of fungal diversity. However, fungal counts in HMs were more clearly determined on DG18. The K20 isolate closely related to Aspergillus sp. demonstrated notable enzymatic activity, exhibiting the highest enzymatic index values for both cellulase and gelatinase. Concurrently, another isolate (K19), identified as closely related to A. versicolor , displayed the highest amylase activity among those tested. These findings collectively suggest that the genus Aspergillus may play a significant role in the biodeterioration and/or the acceleration of biodeterioration in HMs.