Microbiome analysis in Lascaux Cave in relation to black stain alterations of rock surfaces and collembola

Anthropization of Palaeolithic caves open for tourism may favour collembola invasion and result in the formation of black stains attributed to pigmented fungi. However, ecological processes underpinning black stain formation are not fully understood. Here, we tested the hypotheses that black stains from the Apse room of Lascaux Cave display a specific microbiota enriched in pigmented fungi, and that collembola thriving on the stains have the potential to consume and disseminate these black fungi. Metabarcoding showed that the microbiota of black stains and neighbouring unstained parts strongly differed, with in black stains a higher prevalence of Ochroconis and other pigmented fungi and the strong regression of Pseudomonas bacteria (whose isolates inhibited in vitro the growth of pigmented fungi). Isotopic analyses indicated that Folsomia candida collembola thriving on stains could feed on black stain in situ and assimilate the pigmented fungi they were fed with in vitro. They could carry these fungi and disseminate them when tested with complex black stains from Lascaux. This shows that black stain formation is linked to the development of pigmented fungi, which coincides with the elimination of antagonistic pseudomonads, and points towards a key role of F. candida collembola in the dynamics of pigmented fungi.

Automated summary

Research suggests that tourism activities in Palaeolithic caves can lead to the formation of black stains, which are caused by pigmented fungi. The study also found that collembola living on these stains can consume and spread the black fungi.