Increased levels of ambient fungal spores in Taiwan are associated with dust events from China

Wu, Pei-Chih; Tsai, Jui-Chen; Li, Fang-chun; Lung, Shih-Chun Candice; Su, Huey Jen

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.05.039

Cited by 114 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…We utilize LSU sequences and identify more than 1,200 OTUs in 103 genera (Table 2). This trend of uncovering greater species diversity has been seen in other aerial fungal studies across the globe (Ebner et al, 1989;Fernández et al, 1998;Gioulekas et al, 2004;Wu et al, 2004Wu et al, , 2007Fang et al, 2005;Fröhlich-Nowoisky et al, 2009). We predict with longer reads and more refined databases, identification of fungal taxa will become more accurate and resolution will reach the species/ strain level, and an even greater fungal diversity will be realized in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…There are both seasonal (Ebner et al, 1989;Li and Kendrick, 1994;Rosas et al, 1997;Fang et al, 2005;Lee et al, 2010) and short-term (Adhikari et al, 2004;Fang et al, 2005) changes in airborne fungal diversity. For example, temperature (Fernández et al, 1998) and humidity (Levetin, 1989(Levetin, , 1990Wu et al, 2004), which change at both seasonal and short-term scales, are positively correlated with fungal spore density. On a smaller scale, sporadic phenomena such as soil disturbances or sporulation events also have an influence on fungal diversity in the air (Lighthart and Stetzenbach, 1994;Madelin, 1994;Fierer et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies of outdoor environments identified the same set of dominant fungal genera (Cladosporium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, and Penicillium) from different localities around the world (Song, 1965;Burge, 1985;Singh et al, 1995;Rosas et al, 1997;Oh et al, 2000;Su et al, 2001;Shelton et al, 2002;Wu et al, 2004;Fang et al, 2005). Most of these studies depended on spore morphology and/or culture dependent methods for identification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of these studies depended on spore morphology and/or culture dependent methods for identification. As a majority of fungi are not readily cultured (Pace, 1997;Rappé and Giovannoni, 2003;Fröhlich-Nowoisky et al, 2009) or easily identified by spores alone (Burge, 1985), these results are expected to be an underestimation of airborne fungal diversity (Wu et al, 2004). Metagenomics, a new field in biology, uses new DNA sequencing technologies (e.g., pyrosequencing) to directly sequence and identify environmental microbes (Riesenfeld et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying airborne fungi in Seoul, Korea using metagenomics

Fong

Park

et al. 2014

J Microbiol.

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Fungal spores are widespread and common in the atmosphere. In this study, we use a metagenomic approach to study the fungal diversity in six total air samples collected from April to May 2012 in Seoul, Korea. This springtime period is important in Korea because of the peak in fungal spore concentration and Asian dust storms, although the year of this study (2012) was unique in that were no major Asian dust events. Clustering sequences for operational taxonomic unit (OTU) identification recovered 1,266 unique OTUs in the combined dataset, with between 223-396 OTUs present in individual samples. OTUs from three fungal phyla were identified. For Ascomycota, Davidiella (anamorph: Cladosporium) was the most common genus in all samples, often accounting for more than 50% of all sequences in a sample. Other common Ascomycota genera identified were Alternaria, Didymella, Khuskia, Geosmitha, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. While several Basidiomycota genera were observed, Chytridiomycota OTUs were only present in one sample. Consistency was observed within sampling days, but there was a large shift in species composition from Ascomycota dominant to Basidiomycota dominant in the middle of the sampling period. This marked change may have been caused by meteorological events. A potential set of 40 allergyinducing genera were identified, accounting for a large proportion of the diversity present (22.5-77.2%). Our study identifies high fungal diversity and potentially high levels of fungal allergens in springtime air of Korea, and provides a good baseline for future comparisons with Asian dust storms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying airborne fungi in Seoul, Korea using metagenomics

Fong

Park

et al. 2014

J Microbiol.

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“…Infectivity and respiratory tract penetration in humans has also been studied for pathogenic organisms [9]. The genus Fusarium has regularly been isolated in these works but no specific studies have been performed and frequently only the genus is indicated without species assignation [9,15,32]. Fusarium spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal microbiota from rain water and pathogenicity of Fusarium species isolated from atmospheric dust and rainfall dust

Llamas

Rodríguez

Cara

et al. 2010

J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol

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In order to determine the presence of Fusarium spp. in atmospheric dust and rainfall dust, samples were collected during September 2007, and July, August, and October 2008. The results reveal the prevalence of airborne Fusarium species coming from the atmosphere of the South East coast of Spain. Five different Fusarium species were isolated from the settling dust: Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. equiseti, F. dimerum, and F. proliferatum. Moreover, rainwater samples were obtained during significant rainfall events in January and February 2009. Using the dilution-plate method, 12 fungal genera were identified from these rainwater samples. Specific analyses of the rainwater revealed the presence of three species of Fusarium: F. oxysporum, F. proliferatum and F. equiseti. A total of 57 isolates of Fusarium spp. obtained from both rainwater and atmospheric rainfall dust sampling were inoculated onto melon (Cucumis meló L.) cv. Piñonet and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cv. San Pedro. These species were chosen because they are the main herbaceous crops in Almeria province. The results presented in this work indicate strongly that spores or propagules of Fusarium are able to cross the continental barrier carried by winds from the Sahara (Africa) to crop or coastal lands in Europe. Results show differences in the pathogenicity of the isolates tested. Both hosts showed root rot when inoculated with different species of Fusarium, although fresh weight measurements did not bring any information about the pathogenicity. The findings presented above are strong indications that long-distance transmission of Fusarium propagules may occur. Diseases caused by species of Fusarium are common in these areas. They were in the past, and are still today, a problem for greenhouses crops in Almeria, and many species have been listed as pathogens on agricultural crops in this region. Saharan air masses dominate the Mediterranean regions. The evidence of long distance dispersal of Fusarium spp. by atmospheric dust and rainwater together with their proved pathogenicity must be taken into account in epidemiological studies.

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Ground‐based measurement of fluorescent aerosol particles in Tokyo in the spring of 2013: Potential impacts of nonbiological materials on autofluorescence measurements of airborne particles

et al. 2015

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We present results from the observation of fluorescent (FL) aerosols in Tokyo in the spring of 2013. Ambient aerosol particles were analyzed using a single‐particle laser‐induced fluorescence instrument. The fluorescent emission from a single particle excited by a pulsed UV laser (excitation wavelength of 263 nm) was detected by three photomultiplier tubes with band‐pass filters (fluorescence wavelength of 335–379, 420–500, and 500–600 nm). Fluorescence patterns from single particles were analyzed for investigating fluorophores and their sources using backward trajectory analysis, factor analysis, and a comparison with other tracer observations. The backward trajectory analysis suggested possible influences of long‐range transport from northern China in some cases. Observed supermicron FL aerosols were classified into two types: combustion‐ and dust‐type particles. The detection of combustion‐type FL aerosols, which showed temporal variations similar to nitrogen oxides and elemental carbon, implied the presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives. Dust‐type FL aerosols, which were well correlated with the lidar‐derived dust‐aerosol optical depth near the surface (<1 km) and with mineral ions, were dominant in the supermicron size range. The number concentrations of coarse FL aerosols (≥2 µm), with which nonnegligible levels of fluorescence were recorded in all three channels, increased during Asian dust events (relative to a local dust event). It is suggested that PAHs and/or biological materials mixed with dust particles were transported from the North China Plain to the outflow region in East Asia during the observation period. Moreover, the autofluorescence measurement of airborne particles can be substantially affected by nonbiological materials in this region.

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Increased levels of ambient fungal spores in Taiwan are associated with dust events from China

Cited by 114 publications

References 47 publications

Identifying airborne fungi in Seoul, Korea using metagenomics

Identifying airborne fungi in Seoul, Korea using metagenomics

Fungal microbiota from rain water and pathogenicity of Fusarium species isolated from atmospheric dust and rainfall dust

Ground‐based measurement of fluorescent aerosol particles in Tokyo in the spring of 2013: Potential impacts of nonbiological materials on autofluorescence measurements of airborne particles

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