Bacillus mycoides Protects Archeological Artifacts from Fungal Invasion: A Possible Mechanism as Observed in Ancient Remains of Lal Masjid at Khasbalanda, Haroa, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India

Lal Masjid is located in Haroa area of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India in the territory of the ancient port city of Chandraketugarh, flourished long ago in between 600 BCE to 1250 CE, perhaps representing the Gangaridai of Greaco-Roman accounts. Originally it was a Buddhist Stupa, which was later, converted into a Masjid, popularly known as Lal Masjid. The ruins are neither protected nor under routine surveillance; however, it’s fungal invasion lacking. This initiates our quest to find out any persisting antifungal activity amongst the ruins. The surface materials of the artifacts in the ruins were collected with the help of sterile swabs on a bright sunny day. The swab culture revealed the presence of a rhizoid bacterium with creamy white colour opaque colony and further investigations with 16SrRNA gene sequencing revealed the bacterium to be Bacillus mycoides strain S77.3 having anti-fungal property as reported earlier.