Diversity, Concentration and Dynamics of Culturable Fungal Bioaerosols at Doha, Qatar

Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate the dynamics of airborne fungi using viable culture collection and in respect to different abiotic variables, including seasonal and intra-diurnal variations. A gravimetric method was used to sample airborne fungal deposition on potato dextrose agar plates on alternate days, for a year between April 2015 to March 2016. From 176 settle plate exposures, a total of 1197 mould and 283 yeast colony-forming units (CFU), 21 genera and 62 species were retrieved. The highest fungal spore count was recorded in February 2016, whereas the lowest count occurred in August 2015. The main constituents of the fungal airspora were attributed to Cladosporium (60.2%), Aspergillus (10.4%), Fusarium (9.4%), Alternaria (8.5%), and Ganoderma spp. (2.3%). Temperature was negatively correlated with total colony count (r = −0.231, p ≤ 0.05) or species richness (r = −0.267, p ≤ 0.001), while wind speed was positively correlated with total colony count (r = 0.484, p ≤ 0.001) or species richness (r = 0.257, p ≤ −0.001). The highest dispersal of fungal spores was obtained at 18:00, whereas the lowest fungal spores release was recorded at 00:00 (midnight). There were no significant differences in species composition and richness of the airborne fungal population between two study sites, the Industrial area and Qatar University Campus. The count of Alternaria spp. and Fusarium spp. were significantly higher at the Industrial area site, which corresponds to a higher CO2 level than the Qatar University site. This study lays the foundation for future work to assess the implications of such aeromycological data on public health.

Characteristics of annual mold variations and association with childhood allergic symptoms/diseases via combining surveys and home visit measurements

“…Although the air sampling/dust collection during home inspection and the culturable method have been conducted by several studies, 26,63–66 to evaluate the indoor airborne fungal concentrations by quantification, the one‐time air sampling is only helpful to determine current exposure at the sampling location at that time. The results do not facilitate evaluation of long‐term exposure of fungi in air and their dynamic variation temporally and spatially.…”

“…The onsite measurements revealed that most studied homes have exposure risks to higher airborne fungal concentrations and medium pollution level (Figure 3). Moreover, the results in Figure 11 studies, 26,[63][64][65][66] to evaluate the indoor airborne fungal concentrations by quantification, the one-time air sampling is only helpful to determine current exposure at the sampling location at that time.…”

“…Compared with cross-sectional surveys, these studies quantified the indoor mold exposure by home visit and measurements of related indices and provided the dose-response relationships between indoor mold exposure and the probability of adverse health effects. Whereas, it is known that the indoor fungi or mold exposures are affected by climate conditions (e.g., temperature, air movement, and humidity), outdoor bioaerosols, [26][27][28] and change with space and time. Moreover, the building design functions (e.g.…”

A Scoping Review on Airborne Fungi in Iraq (1995-2022) and Analysis of Fungal Communities

“…The results of the current review are similar to many studies from the Middle East. In Doha-Qatar, a total of 21 fungal genera were isolated by gravity method and the predominant taxa were Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Alternaria and Penicillium [43]. Al-Halawgy has found that 74.2% of spore types in Kuwait belong to Deuteromycotina, and Cladosporium was the predominant taxon [44].…”