Airborne bacteria in the atmosphere: Presence, purpose, and potential

Smets, Wenke; Moretti, Serena; Denys, Siegfried; Lebeer, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.05.038

Cited by 262 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 115 publications

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“…Some of the species are considered major pathogens and allergens of plants, animals, and humans, e.g., Hemileia vastatrix, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, and Pneumocystis spp. Smets et al, 2016). While most of the fungal species remain unknown because cultivable species (typically less than 100) occupy only a tiny minority of all existing species, advances in nucleic acid sequencing allow the accurate determination of both cultured and uncultured microbial communities in environmental samples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungi diversity in PM2. 5 and PM1 at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Wei

Chen

et al. 2017

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Fungi are ubiquitous throughout the near-surface atmosphere, where they represent an important component of primary biological aerosol particles. This study combined internal transcribed spacer region sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to investigate the ambient fungi in fine (PM 2.5 , 50 % cutoff aerodynamic diameter D a50 = 2.5 µm, geometric standard deviation of collection efficiency σ g = 1.2) and submicron (PM 1 , D a50 = 1 µm, σ g = 1.2) particles at the summit of Mt. Tai located in the North China Plain, China. Fungal abundance values were 9.4 × 10 4 and 1.3 × 10 5 copies m −3 in PM 2.5 and PM 1 , respectively. Most of the fungal sequences were from Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, which are known to actively discharge spores into the atmosphere. The fungal community showed a significant seasonal shift across different size fractions according to Metastats analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. The abundance of Glomerella and Zasmidium increased in larger particles in autumn, whereas Penicillium, Bullera, and Phaeosphaeria increased in smaller particles in winter. Environmental factors, namely Ca 2+ , humidity, and temperature, were found to be crucial for the seasonal variation in the fungal community. This study might serve as an important reference for fungal contribution to primary biological aerosol particles.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungi diversity in PM2. 5 and PM1 at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Wei

Chen

et al. 2017

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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“…The atmosphere is now widely recognized as a habitat containing numerous and diverse microorganisms (Lighthart, 1997; Pashley et al, 2012; Smets et al, 2016). The concentrations of viable microbial aerosols can vary across temporal and spatial scales (Lighthart, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Depending on wind direction, the flux of bacteria in coastal environments may vary by orders of magnitude (Lighthart, 1997). Bacteria and fungi can be a source of disease and allergens, making their transport through urban environments an area of special concern (Smets et al, 2016). Information about the sources and size distribution of culturable bacteria and fungi aerosols remain as gaps in our understanding of urban microbiology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culturable bioaerosols along an urban waterfront are primarily associated with coarse particles

Montero

Dueker

O’Mullan

2016

PeerJ

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The source, characteristics and transport of viable microbial aerosols in urban centers are topics of significant environmental and public health concern. Recent studies have identified adjacent waterways, and especially polluted waterways, as an important source of microbial aerosols to urban air. The size of these aerosols influences how far they travel, their resistance to environmental stress, and their inhalation potential. In this study, we utilize a cascade impactor and aerosol particle monitor to characterize the size distribution of particles and culturable bacterial and fungal aerosols along the waterfront of a New York City embayment. We seek to address the potential contribution of bacterial aerosols from local sources and to determine how their number, size distribution, and taxonomic identity are affected by wind speed and wind direction (onshore vs. offshore). Total culturable microbial counts were higher under offshore winds (average of 778 CFU/m3 ± 67), with bacteria comprising the majority of colonies (58.5%), as compared to onshore winds (580 CFU/m3 ± 110) where fungi were dominant (87.7%). The majority of cultured bacteria and fungi sampled during both offshore winds (88%) and onshore winds (72%) were associated with coarse aerosols (>2.1 µm), indicative of production from local sources. There was a significant correlation (p < 0.05) of wind speed with both total and coarse culturable microbial aerosol concentrations. Taxonomic analysis, based on DNA sequencing, showed that Actinobacteria was the dominant phylum among aerosol isolates. In particular, Streptomyces and Bacillus, both spore forming genera that are often soil-associated, were abundant under both offshore and onshore wind conditions. Comparisons of bacterial communities present in the bioaerosol sequence libraries revealed that particle size played an important role in microbial aerosol taxonomy. Onshore and offshore coarse libraries were found to be most similar. This study demonstrates that the majority of culturable bacterial aerosols along a New York City waterfront were associated with coarse aerosol particles, highlighting the importance of local sources, and that the taxonomy of culturable aerosol bacteria differed by size fraction and wind direction.

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“…7d) may represent strategies that organisms take to protect themselves from the harsh atmospheric environment and ensure their survival. Entering a non-dividing state (dormancy) in which they transform morphologically to spores or undergo other cell wall modifications and slow down or stop their metabolic activity can improve their resistance to physical stresses, such as desiccation and UV radiation, which increases their chances of survival in the 20 atmosphere (Smets et al, 2016). Furthermore, some coccus-like airborne microbes were found attached to mineral particles ( Fig.…”

Section: State Of the Bioaerosols In The Dust And Non-dust Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of atmospheric bioaerosols along the transport pathway of Asian dust during the Dust-Bioaerosol 2016 Campaign

Tang¹,

Huang²,

Maki³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Previous studies have shown that bioaerosols are injected into the atmosphere during dust events. 10 These bioaerosols may affect leeward ecosystems, human health and agricultural productivity and may even induce climate change. However, bioaerosol dynamics have rarely been investigated along the transport pathway of Asian dust, especially in China, where dust events affect huge areas and massive numbers of people. Given this situation, the Dust-Bioaerosol (DuBi) Campaign was carried out over northern China, and the effects of dust events on the amount and diversity of bioaerosols were 15 investigated. The results indicate that the number of bacteria showed remarkable increases during the dust events, and the diversity of the bacterial communities also increased significantly, as determined by means of microscopic observations with 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and MiSeq sequencing analysis. These results indicate that dust clouds can carry many bacteria of various types into downwind regions and may have potentially important impacts on ecological environments and 20 climate change. The abundances of DAPI-stained bacteria in the dust samples were one to two orders of magnitude greater than those in the non-dust samples and reached 10 5 ~ 10 6 particles· m -3 . Moreover, the charge capacity of yellow fluorescent particles associated with the DAPI-stained bacteria increased of the phylum proteobacteria in all dust samples. In the future, the viability and activity of airborne microbes, the interactions between bioaerosols and other gaseous and solid components in the air, and the effects of bioaerosols on animals and plants, ecological environments and the climate system must be studied in depth to help us understand the behavior of bioaerosols in the air and dust clouds in greater detail.

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Airborne bacteria in the atmosphere: Presence, purpose, and potential

Cited by 262 publications

References 115 publications

Fungi diversity in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub> at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Fungi diversity in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub> at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Culturable bioaerosols along an urban waterfront are primarily associated with coarse particles

Characterization of atmospheric bioaerosols along the transport pathway of Asian dust during the Dust-Bioaerosol 2016 Campaign

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Airborne bacteria in the atmosphere: Presence, purpose, and potential

Cited by 262 publications

References 115 publications

Fungi diversity in PM&lt;sub&gt;2. 5&lt;/sub&gt; and PM&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt; at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Fungi diversity in PM&lt;sub&gt;2. 5&lt;/sub&gt; and PM&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt; at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Culturable bioaerosols along an urban waterfront are primarily associated with coarse particles

Characterization of atmospheric bioaerosols along the transport pathway of Asian dust during the Dust-Bioaerosol 2016 Campaign

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Fungi diversity in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub> at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Fungi diversity in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub> at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation