DNA metabarcoding of microbial communities shaped by ink composition on degraded historical parchments

The project examines how the chemical composition of historical iron-gall inks influences microbial colonisation on degraded parchment documents. Using DNA metabarcoding, bacterial communities were characterised in areas showing different ink-related colonisation patterns, ranging from inhibited regions to stained zones with evident microbial growth. Spectroscopic analyses showed that variations in ink composition and metal diffusion corresponded to distinct microbial profiles.