Historical Heritage in Antarctica, The Casa Moneta Museum: A First Approach to the Characterization of Xylophagous Fungi and Their Potential Role in Wood Damage

Abstract

The Casa Moneta Museum is located at the base located at an isthmus located on Laurie Island inthe South Orkney Islands archipelago. Currently, the museum shows signs of deterioration of the wood (discoloration, fibrous appearance and presence of mycelium) and it is necessary to characterize this mycobiota to analyze the potential role in the biodegradation process. An assessment of the potential risk associated with fungal communities could provide valuableinformation for taking conservation action at the Casa Moneta Museum. The aim of this work was to evaluate the extracellular oxidase production of fungi recovered from deteriorated wood at themuseum and to analyze the biodegradation risk index of three sampled sites in the building. Theenzymatic profile showed the potential degradation of Cadophora spp. and Tulasnella albida strains. The analysis performed integrated data on several parameters like occurrences, species diversity, dominant species, wind direction, relative humidity, growth temperature, type of dispersionpropagules and substrate, indicating Site 2 has a major biodegradation risk index which suggeststhat this site should be the immediate target for conservation efforts.