Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> Abundant waterlogged ivory relics unearthed from the Sanxingdui relic suffer from severe deterioration caused by burial environments and are in urgent need of conservation. This study innovatively adopted a composite MICP technology by <italic>Sporosarcina pasteurii</italic> with high urease activity (2.89 U/mL) and <italic>Bacillus subtilis</italic> with high carbonic anhydrase activity (6.60 U/mL) to consolidate waterlogged ivory and elucidated its biomineralization mechanism via omics analysis. After treatment, the porosity and specific surface area of the ivory decreased by 22.95% and 36.64%, respectively, and its compressive strength was enhanced 2.49 times to 20.92 MPa. Metagenomic analysis revealed that the proportion of <italic>Sporosarcina pasteurii</italic> in the composite microbial consortium increased following biomineralization. Metatranscriptomic analysis revealed that genes involved in growth and metabolism were inhibited, whereas urease and carbonic anhydrase production were upregulated during MICP. This study provides technical support for the application of composite MICP technology in the conservation of cultural relics. </p>