or Bacterial colonisation of built cultural heritage.
When I first came to Lincoln, having worked in healthcare research for close to 10 years I looked into doing a PhD. Naturally I went with what was familiar and was looking at transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes. This was not to be however, during my first year I was paid to do a little bit of research into biodeterioration of stone and everything changed after that!
Built heritage is at risk from the effects of bacterial species within biofilms (a microbial community encapsulated in a matrix of complex sugars, protein and DNA). Some microbes in biofilms damage stone surfaces and cause discolouration. Although biofilm research has been carried out in Mediterranean regions, few studies cover temperate Northern Europe climates, or the UK oceanic climate.
At the University of Lincoln, in the Lincoln School of Humanities and Heritage we working on learning more about the bioreceptivity and biodeterioration of stones. This has led to collaborations with the Diocese of Lincoln and Lincoln Cathedral to characterize the microbiomes of damaged and undamaged limestone and more recently a 3 year funded project with Historic England trying to standardise the way people measure bioreceptivity, as well as looking at some alternatives to the chemical biocides currently used on stone.
