Multikingdom interactions govern the microbiome in subterranean cultural heritage sites

9 páginas.- 5 figuras.- 66 referencias.- Data Availability. The amplicon sequences, shotgun metagenomics, and screened Actinobacteria strain sequences reported in this article have been deposited in the NCBI BioProject and GenBank databases (accession nos. PRJNA721777, PRJNA745276, and OL444665 to OL444682, respectively). All other study data are included in the article and/or supporting information

Microbial biodeterioration is a major concern for the conservation of historical cultural relics worldwide. However, the ecology involving the origin, composition, and establishment of microbiomes on relics, once exposed to external environments, is largely unknown. Here, we combined field surveys with physiological assays and biological interaction experiments to investigate the microbiome in the Dahuting Han Dynasty Tomb, a Chinese tomb with more than 1,800 y of history, and its surrounding environments. Our investigation finds that multikingdom interactions, from mutualism to competition, drive the microbiome in this subterranean tomb. We reveal that Actinobacteria, Pseudonocardiaceae are the dominant organisms on walls in this tomb. These bacteria produce volatile geosmin that attracts springtails (Collembola), forming an interkingdom mutualism, which contributes to their dispersal, as one of the possible sources into the tomb from surrounding environments. Then, intrakingdom competition helps explain why Pseudonocardiaceae thrive in this tomb via the production of a mixture of cellulases, in combination with potential antimicrobial substances. Together, our findings show that multikingdom interactions play an important role in governing the microbiomes that colonize cultural relics. This knowledge is integral to understanding the ecological and physiological features of relic microbiomes and to supporting the relics’ long-term conservation.

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program (2019YFC1520700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42177297), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Strategic Priority Research Program Grant XDA28010302, and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS (Member No. 2014271). M.D.-B. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal Grant (RYC2018-025483-I), a project from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-115813RA-I00), and Project Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación 2020 from the Junta de Andalucía (P20_00879).

Peer reviewed