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Biodeterioration Of Historic Buildings

In Latin America
CC Gaylarde & PM Gaylarde1
Dept. Biophysics & 1MIRCEN, Federal Uni Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Summary: Buildings of cultural heritage are discolored and degraded by the growth and activity of
living organisms. Microorganisms form biofilms on the surfaces of stone and painted buildings,
with resulting aesthetic and structural damage. The organisms involved are bacteria (including
actinomycetes and cyanobacteria), fungi and algae, but protozoa and other small animals are also
found. The interactions between these organisms can enhance or retard the overall rate of
degradation. In addition, microorganisms within the structure (endoliths) may cause damage.
These may grow in cracks and pores within the materials and may bore into rocks such as
limestone. True endoliths, present within the rock itself, rather than in voids in the rock, are found
in materials such as soapstone and are predominantly bacterial. A review of work on microbial
biofilms on buildings of historic interest in various Latin American countries is presented and the
microbial activities which lead to degradation of the structures are described.

Keywords. Biodeterioration, cultural heritage, microorganisms, weathering

1 INTRODUCTION
Both historic and modern buildings are subject to the deteriorative and degradative action of the environment and living
organisms, normally referred to as "weathering". Biological and abiotic processes can occur concurrently, each contributing to
the overall deleterious effects, and it can be difficult to determine the contribution of each. However, there is no doubt that
biological growths have considerable impact on the soundness of structural materials.

Fig. 1. Mosses and higher plants growing on limestone building of the Mayan civilization at Sayil, Yucatan, Mexico
The destructive effects of mosses and higher plants are readily recognized. The root structures penetrate and disrupt the
structure of the building (Fig. 1), but plant growth occurs only after a "protosoil" has been produced by the growth and
degradative activity of other organisms, less obvious to the naked eye - microorganisms. These form so-called "biofilms" on
any humid surface, even if a water layer is not detectable; such biofilms, apart from serving to prepare the surface for plant
growth, can themselves have considerable impact on building materials. The problems associated with microorganisms are not
familiar to architects and engineers, and are generally disregarded by them; however, microbial activities are potential threats
to the maintenance of modern buildings, as well as historic and cultural property. The activities of microorganisms in biofilms
are shown in Table 1. Since the organisms are present on the surface of the materials, their activities are localized and
concentrated at these points.

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Table 1. The effects of microbial activities on historic buildings

Observed effect Microbial activity Material(s) Major microorganisms
Discoloration Physical presence All Algae, cyanobacteria, fungi
Retention of water Physical presence, All All
EPS
Stimulation of growth of Physical presence Clean surfaces Algae, photosynthetic bacteria,
heterotrophic and higher including cyanobacteria
organisms
Breakdown of material Hydrolytic enzymes Wood, painted Fungi, bacteria
surfaces
Disaggregation of Filamentous growth Stone, Fungi, actinomycetes,
material form concrete, cyanobacteria, algae, lichens
mortar, wood
Formation of patinas Oxidation of Stone Iron and manganese oxidising
translocated cations bacteria; fungi, cyanobacteria
Degradation Acid production Stone, Fungi, bacteria, lichens
(Corrosion) concrete,
mortar
Weakening and Mobilisation and Stone, brick, All
dissolution of structure chelation of ions concrete,
mortar
Alkaline dissolution Uptake of H+ ions by Stone Algae, cyanobacteria
cells
Disruption of layered Liberation of polyols Mica, All
silicates (e.g. glycerol, soapstone
polysaccharides)
Microbial biofilms, complex associations of microscopic organisms and their metabolic products, may be visible or invisible to
the naked eye. Almost all surfaces can be so colonized (Koestler et al., 1985; Griffin et al., 1991). "Soiling" and discoloration
of buildings is usually evidence of a biofilm, but even invisible biofilms can be a threat to the structure, producing acids and
other substances (see Table 1), which can degrade the surfaces of mineral materials and cause spalling (flaking) of surface
coatings. The rate of colonization is determined by environmental, as well as biological, factors. Temperature, humidity, light
intensity and the physico-chemical nature of the surface of the material all play an important role. Generally, hard, polished
stone of low porosity is more resistant to the degradative attack of microorganisms, but all rocks are susceptible to biofilm
formation. The various types of stone used in historic constructions in Latin America are shown in Table 2, with examples of
the important cultural sites built using these materials.

Table 2. Rocks used as constructional materials in historic buildings in Latin America (LA)
Rock type Examples Porosity Other relevant Examples of constructions Fig.
(%) characteristics No.
Siliceous Quartzite 1-2 Very hard, acid Minas Gerais churches, Brazil.

Granite/ 1 Hard, acid Machu Picchu, Peru. 2

Gneiss Cuzco cathedral, Peru
Sandstone 5-30 Variable durability, Colonial buildings in LA
acid
Soapstone 0.5-5 Soft, basic, acid- Minas Gerais churches; Statue 3,
resistant of Christ, Rio, Brazil. 4
Slate 0.5-5 Basic Quilmes, Argentina; Tiwanako, 5
Bolivia;
Colonial buildings in LA.
Limestone Limestone 2-20 Basic Mayan constructions in the 1, 6
Yucatan peninsula, Mexico;
colonial buildings, Cartagena,
Colombia.
Marble 0.5-2 Basic Funerary monuments. 7

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Fig. 2. The Inca site of Machu Picchu, Peru.

Fig. 3. The Church of Bom Jesus, Congonhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The unpainted part of the church faade is of
quartzite and soapstone. The statues of the prophets are carved in soapstone.

Fig. 4. Statue of Christ, Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The concrete statue is covered with a soapstone mosaic.

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Fig. 5. Skulls set into wall at Tiwanaco, Bolivia. Note orange-yellow lichen on left hand side.

Fig. 6. Limestone carving on a Mayan building at Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Fig. 7. Marble tombstone with intense black biofilm in churchyard in Minas Gerais.

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Historic buildings have obviously survived for centuries and it may be suggested that they therefore have an inherent resistance
to decay processes. Of course, they are normally subject to renovation and repair over the years. However, environmental
conditions have changed recently in such a way as to increase the activities of biofilms on mineral surfaces. The effect of
industrialization on weathering has been discussed by Winkler (1976). Layers of organic pollutants may act as nutrients for the
growth of heterotrophic microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), thus accelerating both aesthetic and physico-chemical
deterioration (May et al., 1993; Saiz-Jimenez, 1995). The adsorbed pollutants include fatty acids and aliphatic and aromatic
hydrocarbons (Saiz-Jimenez, 1995; Zanardini et al., 2000), which modify the nature of the stone surface. Increased inputs of
sulfur and nitrogen, as acid rain, and trace elements from particulates can also stimulate microbial growth.
Coatings such as plaster and paint also modify the stone surface. Paints and varnishes reduce the ingress of water and can be
protective, but they also lead to the retention of water once present under the coating, and this accelerates internal degradation.
A similar situation can occur beneath patinas, surface layers of inorganic oxides, whose formation can be induced by
microorganisms (Krumbein et al., 1987). Painted surfaces are subject to microbial deterioration, the organic constituents of the
paint frequently acting as food for the cells.
Salts of organic acids, produced by microbial cells during their normal metabolic processes, can mobilize cations from within
the stone, causing degradation (Petersen et al., 1988, Saiz-Jimenez, 1994). It has been suggested that iron-chelating compounds
(siderophores) produced by living cells can induce microfissures in the stone surface (Krumbein & Schnborn-Krumbein,
1987).
The majority of information on biodeterioration of ancient buildings comes from research in Europe, even though the
processes are more rapid under tropical and sub-tropical conditions. We report here the microorganisms in biofilms on historic
buildings in the Latin American countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Equador, Mexico and Peru, and their potential for
biodeterioration.
2 EXPERIMENTAL
Samples of biofilms were taken from the surfaces of various historic buildings in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Equador, Mexico
and Peru, using the non-destructive adhesive tape sampling method of Gaylarde & Gaylarde (1998), and fungi and
phototrophic microorganisms (algae and cyanobacteria) were identified by culture and microscopic analysis. Fungi were
identified both on algal and fungal media (Shirakawa et al., 2001). Bacteria, actinomycetes and protozoa were noted in cultures
on algal media, but were only identified by morphology, where possible. In addition, samples of degraded rock from both
natural sites and buildings were taken to study the role of microorganisms in fissures and within the structure of the rock
(endoliths).
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The major groups of microorganisms detected in the superficial biofilms are cyanobacteria and fungi. There is no significant
difference between similar buildings in different countries, but there is a difference in the major types of microorganisms
detected on different materials (Table 3), which has also been reported by other authors (Tomaselli et al., 2000). These
organisms are able to survive the continual drying and rehydration occurring on exposed building surfaces. Although some,
such as the alga, Trentepohlia, produce specialized survival cells, the major microbial genera detected, Gloeocapsa,
Synechocystis, Cladosporium and Aureobasidium, grow in our laboratory cultures from their vegetative forms, collected from
the walls on adhesive tape and stored under dry conditions prior to culture. This ability to survive extreme and prolonged
desiccation is an essential characteristic of cells which colonize walls exposed to the external environment. Many of the
organisms produce pigments for protection against uv and these can cause the staining seen on exposed surfaces of buildings.
Algae and cyanobacteria are always intrinsically coloured when active, and generally assume a grey/black coloration when
dead. The most prevalent fungi are dark-pigmented types and the actinomycete genus Geodermatophilus is also typically
pigmented. Thus the principal microorganisms detected on these historic buildings cause aesthetic deterioration of the surface
(discoloration). However, they can also actively degrade the materials.

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Table 3. Main types of organisms detected on the surfaces of historic buildings in Latin America
Group Characteristics of cells detected Most common Fig.
occurrence* No.
Pleurocapsales Single-celled or colonial cyanobacteria, often L, S, M 8
darkly pigmented
Gloeocapsa Single-celled or colonial cyanobacteria, L, P 9
encapsulated, cells and/or capsules often
coloured pink, purple or brown
Synechocystis Single-celled or colonial cyanobacteria, P, S 9
sometimes in coloured mucilage
Oscillatoriales Filamentous cyanobacteria, with or without a P 10
sheath, generally green or brown
Scytonemataceae Filamentous cyanobacteria, sheathed, often dark P 11
brown
Nostocaceae Filamentous cyanobacteria, embedded in G, P 12
mucilage, often brown or grey/blue
Actinomycetes, Streptomyces, Filamentous bactria. Geodermatophilus All 13
Nocardia, Geodermatophilus frequently pink or brown coloured
Cladosporium Dark pigmented filamentous fungus All 14
Aureobasidium Black yeast P
Trentepohlia Filamentous green alga, often orange, brown, or P, G 15
pink in mass
Chlorella, Chlorococcum Coccoid green algae P

*L (limestone), S (soapstone), G (granite), M (mortar), P (painted or otherwise coated) surfaces

Fig. 8. Pleurocapsales group Fig. 9. Gloeocapsa (purple) and Synechocystis genera

Fig. 10 Oscillatoriales group. Fig. 11. Scytonemataceae group

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Fig. 12. Colonies of the cyanobacterial group Nostocaceae, Fig. 13. Actinomycetes growing as a white layer on
growing endolithically in a granite church in Parati, an internal wall at the Mayan site of Uxmal, Mexico.
Brazil.

Fig. 14. The filamentous fungus, Cladosporium. The spore- Fig. 15. The filamentous alga Trentepohlia, showing
bearing head is shown here. brown/red oil droplets inside cells.
Degradation of siliceous minerals.
The ability of the microorganisms found on these surfaces to survive desiccation indicates that they produce osmotic
protectants, polyols, which partially replace water in the cell cytoplasm. Glycerol has long been known to cause the expansion
of micaceous minerals. Glycerol and other polyols, such as glucose and high molecular weight polysaccharides, form
complexes by hydrogen bonding in between the laminar polysiloxane crystal planes of micaceous minerals. This causes
expansion and mechanical stresses, which may degrade the rock, and ions bound within the structure may become more
accessible to chemical attack. The polyols present in high concentrations in desiccation-resistant organisms such as those found
on the historic buildings in this study can thus be responsible for weakening of the structure of siliceous materials. These
chemicals protect the cells against freezing, desiccation and excess salt. Our studies show that Gloeocapsa, Scytonema,
Aureobasidium and Cladosporium from paint will grow on media with up to 20% (w/v) added NaCl. Unpublished observations
on samples from mortar collected at a site with severe salting in Europe, showed a much wider range of salt tolerant genera,
including slime moulds, protozoa and rotifers. The role of polyols in biodegradation of siliceous materials has not previously
been suggested in the literature.
It is commonly stated that siliceous rocks are degraded by biologically produced acids (Strzelczyk, 1981; Petersen et al., 1988).
However, Bennett et al. (1988) showed that organic acids, in general, do not increase the dissolution of silica. In the presence
only of citrate, salicylate, or oxalate anions, the dissolution increased with pH over the tested pH range of 3 to 7. Anions of -
dicarboxylic acids (e.g. citrate) will form cyclic hydrogen bonded complexes with the superficial hydroxyl groups of quartz.
The dissolution of silica will be accelerated by increased hydroxyl ion concentrations, which attack the Si-O-Si linkage and
this reaction will almost certainly be favoured by the presence of polyols, which will additionally increase the solubility of
these products. Thus polyols and complex organic anions can attack siliceous minerals under alkaline conditions. Silica
dissolution under these conditions will also be increased by the formation of covalent siloxanes and hydrogen-bonded
complexes with -hydroxy acids (eg salicylate) and -phenolic diols (eg humic acids, pyrocatechol), all of which are produced
by microbial activity (Iler, 1979).
The siliceous mineral, soapstone, is a soft stone that is very resistant to acid and has been used to construct tanks for the
storage of strong mineral acids. Its main component is talc, Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. This stone has been extensively used in the
historical monuments of Minas Gerais, Brazil (Fig. 2). It has an alkaline reaction, generally pH 9 or a little higher. Silicon and
aluminium are mobilized at pH values above pH 95 and phototrophs can increase their immediate environment to above pH
11 by the action of ionic pumps (Miller et al. 1990). The resulting stone degradation can produce catastrophic sloughing of
surface layers when the organisms are present within the material as endoliths. This is shown in Fig. 16, where microorganisms
growing within the soapstone nfaade of a church in Ouro Preto, Brazil, have caused spalling of the surface. The principal
microorganisms detected in the deeper part the soapstone sample were the cyanobacterial genus Synechococcus and
actinomycetesnn.

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Fig. 16. Spalling soapstone, showing green growth of (mainly) cyanobacteria deeper than the whitened spalled
layer. The red coloration is patina.
Degradation of carbonates.
Limestone may be biodegraded by bacterial, fungal and algal acids (Koestler et al., 1985 Grant, 1982; May et al, 1993) and by
mechanical penetration by filamentous fungi and phototrophs (Hoffmann, 1989; Ortega-Calvo et al., 1991). Dark pigmented
mitosporic fungi, or black yeasts, can also actively penetrate limestone, causing "biopitting" (Sterflinger & Krumbein, 1997).
Hoffmann (1989), in his review of algae in terrestrial habitats, states that cyanobacteria capable of boring into limestone are of
the genera Gloeocapsa, Stigonema, Chroococcus, Aphanocapsa and Schizothrix.. All of these genera, apart from Schizothrix,
are found on the historic buildings in our study.
The mechanism of boring is unknown. Cyanobacterial cells on limestone can often be seen, in electron micrographs, to be
covered with calcareous deposits (Ascaso et al., 1998; Ortega-Morales et al., 2000), which suggests the migration of calcium
from neighboring sites. Phototrophs deposit CaCO3 in the light and solubilize it at night because of changing bicarbonate
concentrations. This process has been well studied in the coccoid cyanobacterium Synechococcus GL24. These spherical cells
possess on their external surface a so-called S-layer, which binds calcium ions at negatively charged sites (Schultze et al.,
1994). The bound calcium complexes with carbonate ions at pH values above 8.3. Even if the pH of the stone surface is not so
high, it is elevated to these levels by phototrophic activity, whereby OH- ions are released and concentrated around the cells
(Miller et al., 1990), raising the local pH. Cells of Synechococcus can become encrusted with calcite within 8h in a suitable
environment and must continually shed patches of mineralized S-layer to remain viable (Douglas & Beveridge, 1998).
Mobilization of calcium ions by such metabolic activity and ion transport, in addition to the trapping of released particles of
calcite, either of biotic or abiotic origen, in the gelatinous cyanobacterial sheath (Pentecost, 1988), is an important mechanism
of limestone degradation by cyanobacteria and algae.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Pigmented microorganisms, bacteria, fungi and algae, cause discoloration on the surface of buildings of historic and cultural
importance. In addition, they can directly cause degradation of the materials through various metabolic activities. This
biodeterioration and biodegradation is not prevented by surface coatings on stone buildings, since these coatings, themselves,
are subject to microbial growth. Although hard, smooth and less porous surfaces, such as basalt or varnished stone, are more
resistant to microbial colonization, they can still be attacked by many microorganisms. The resultant biofilms should be
removed regularly, using non-abrasive and environmentally safe methods, to reduce the impact of microbial activities.
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