Bio-Archive of Cultural Heritage Microbiomes for Sustainable Conservation in the Multi-Omics Era

Cultural heritage sites are commonly exposed to outdoor environments, resulting in severe damage to heritage objects from biotic and abiotic processes. Control of outdoor environments is impossible for heritage conservation, and we cannot prevent the abiotic processes. However, a variety of mitigation management can be developed for biotic damage, such as microbial colonization and biodeterioration. Over the past few decades, both conventional cultivation-dependent and modern cultivation-independent techniques have been employed to elucidate the microbiomes associated with the biodeterioration of cultural heritage. However, many studies are limited to segmentary analyses or simply stop at examining the community composition of the microbiomes, lacking solid evidence of microbial metabolism and biochemical reactions between microorganisms and heritage materials to support the core microbiomes associated with the biodeterioration. Here, we recommend thoroughly exploring the benefits of more advanced multi-omics techniques for analyzing cultural heritage microbiomes. We propose establishing a professional open-access database to standardize analytical procedures, integrating both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches, and bio-archive valuable information on the core microbiomes, including their biodeterioration mechanisms, timelines, causes, and environmental conditions. This bio-archive of cultural heritage microbiomes will empower conservators and researchers worldwide to develop evidence-based, sustainable approaches for cultural heritage conservation under environmental change.