The effects of Mary Rose conservation treatment on iron oxidation processes and microbial communities contributing to acid production in marine archaeological timbers.

ABSTRACT: The Tudor warship the Mary Rose has reached an important transition point in her conservation. The 19 year long process of spraying with polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been completed (April 29(th) 2013) and the hull is air drying under tightly controlled conditions. Acidophilic bacteria capable of oxidising iron and sulfur have been previously identified and enriched from unpreserved timbers of the Mary Rose, demonstrating that biological pathways of iron and sulfur oxidization existed potentially in this wood, before preservation with PEG. This study was designed to establish if the recycled PEG spray system was a reservoir of microorganisms capable of iron and sulfur oxidization during preservation of the Mary Rose. Microbial enrichments derived from PEG impregnated biofilm collected from

SUBMITTER: Preston J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3929279 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature