Microbial Analysis of Tsunami-Damaged Historic Leather Objects from Japan

Six Bacillus species were isolated from two historic leather objects damaged in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. DNA amplicon sequencing analysis detected multiple fungi on the leather surface, including pre-disaster species. The research by Satoko Taguchi identified anatase-type titanium dioxide as an effective antimicrobial treatment for these damaged artifacts.

Use Cases

• Identify microbial threats to historic materials based on isolation experiments from tsunami-damaged leather.
• Evaluate the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments based on the verification of growth inhibition for Bacillus species.
• Analyze fungal contamination on artifact surfaces based on DNA amplicon sequencing results.
• Simulate treatment effects on modern materials based on tests using vegetable-tanned pigskin leather samples.
• Study enzyme secretion by degrading microorganisms based on detected collagenase, trypsin, and lipase activity.

Strengths

• Includes experimental results from two specific historic leather objects from the Rikuzentakata City Collection.
• Provides verification of an effective antimicrobial treatment (anatase-type titanium dioxide).
• Combines microbial isolation with DNA sequencing analysis for a multi-method approach.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset's 9.4 MB size suggests a relatively small scale of data.

Provenance

Source

Satoko Taguchi via figshare

Collection Method

Microbial isolation experiments and DNA amplicon sequencing analysis conducted on tsunami-damaged objects.

Time Range

Focuses on objects damaged in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 15:09:01; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Objects from the Rikuzentakata City Collection in Japan.