Parengyodontium album, a frequently reported fungal species in the cultural heritage environment

Fungi are one of the main agents responsible for the biodeterioration of cultural heritage through physical and chemical processes. The frequent isolation of certain fungal species from deteriorated materials indicates that these species appear to have a particular affinity for environmental conditions occurring in cultural heritage. It is important to identify the conditions that favour the development of such species in order to understand how to preserve monuments and collections. Among these fungal species, the involvement of Parengyodontium album (Limber) Tsang et al. seems to have been underestimated until now. This species is abundant in many environments and its taxonomic position has changed quite frequently, which may have concealed the effect of this fungus on cultural heritage sites. This review seeks to compile the involvement of P. album in cultural heritage biodeterioration phenomena under all the names that it has been attributed in order to effectively determine its occurrence. This paper also aims to determine whether P. album is marginal or dominant when detected on materials. Finally, the conditions that favour the development of P. album on cultural heritage objects and sites are discussed. (C) 2020 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.