Search results for "LASCAUX CAVE"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
A laboratory cave for the study of wall degradation in rock art caves : an implementation in the Vézère area
2013
The aim of this proposal is to present an original approach to the study and preservation of rock art caves. A multidisciplinary study of cave wall alteration will be performed to understand the impact of environmental context on the evolution of wall surfaces. The approach involves the choice of a cave with characteristics similar to painted caves in the studied area (Vézère Valley in Dordogne, France): e.g., cave wall alteration, lithology, morphology, etc. This selected cave is intended to become a laboratory cave, monitored for the acquisition of chemical, physical and biological environmental data on bedrock, air and fluids along with their characteristics. A cave without art or archae…
Impact of biocide treatments on the bacterial communities of the Lascaux Cave.
2009
The Lascaux Cave contains a remarkable set of paintings from the Upper Palaeolithic. Shortly after discovery in 1940, the cave was modified for public viewing and, in 2001, was invaded by a Fusarium solani species complex. Benzalkonium chloride was used from 2001 to 2004 to eliminate the fungal outbreak. In this study, we carried out a sampling in most of the cave halls and galleries. Sequence analysis and isolation methods detected that the most abundant genera of bacteria were Ralstonia and Pseudomonas. We suggest that, as a result of years of benzalkonium chloride treatments, the indigenous microbial community has been replaced by microbial populations selected by biocide application.
Bacteria and free-living amoeba in the Lascaux Cave.
2008
3 pages, 1 table, 18 references. The collaboration of the Lascaux restoration team is highly appreciated. We thank Marisa Chelius for valuable comments on the manuscript.
Real-time PCR detection of Ochroconis lascauxensis involved in the formation of black stains in the Lascaux Cave, France
2012
A real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay was developed to detect and quantify Ochroconis lascauxensis in the Lascaux Cave in France. This fungus is the principal causal agent of the black stains threatening the Paleolithic paintings of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The black stains outbreak could not be stopped in spite of using intensive biocide treatments. A sensitive and time-saving protocol is needed for determining the extent of the colonization. Sets of primers that target the ITS and RPB2 regions were designed and evaluated for specificity against O. lascauxensis. Genomic DNA extracted from five species of Ochroconis and 13 other fungal species frequently isolated from ca…
Free-living amoebae in sediments from the Lascaux Cave in France
2013
The Lascaux Cave in France is an old karstic channel where the running waters are collected in a pool and pumped to the exterior. It is well-known that water bodies in the vicinity of humans are suspected to be reservoirs of amoebae and associated bacteria. In fact, the free-living amoebae Acanthamoeba astronyxis, Acanthamoeba castellanii, Acanthamoeba sp. and Hartmannella vermiformis were identified in the sediments of the cave using phylogenetic analyses and morphological traits. Lascaux Cave sediments and rock walls are wet due to a relative humidity near saturation and water condensation, and this environment and the presence of abundant bacterial communities constitute an ideal habitat…
Two new species of the genus Ochroconis, O. lascauxensis and O. anomala isolated from black stains in Lascaux Cave, France
2012
In the year 2001, some conspicuous black stains appeared on the walls of Lascaux Cave in France, which progressively disseminated throughout the cave. These black stains were so evident by 2007 that they have become one of the cave's major problems. In a mycological study of the black stains, Ochroconis strains were abundant among the isolates and constituted the major group of melanised fungi. Two new species of the genus Ochroconis, O. lascauxensis and O. anomala, were isolated and described. The description is based on the morphology of the fungi and the phylogenetic relationships of two of its gene regions internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and RNA polymerase II subunit B (RPB2). In addi…