Microbial diversity of individual raindrops collected from simulated and natural precipitation events

Garcia, Ellen B.; Hanlon, Regina; Makris, Melissa; Powers, Craig; Jímenez-Sánchez, Celía; Karatum, Osman; Marr, Linsey C.; Sands, David C.; Schmale, David G.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.04.023

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…To determine the mean volumes of the drop populations, two of the SREs (7 and 8, watering cans with 1.65 ± 0.02 mm and 1.04 ± 0.02 mm diameter holes, respectively) were collected in a dewar containing liquid nitrogen [23] and processed as described previously [20]. Briefly, the frozen water drops collected in the liquid nitrogen were recovered and placed into individual microcentrifuge tubes.…”

Section: Simulated Rain Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall

et al. 2020

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The processes removing aerosols from the atmosphere during rainfall are generically referred to as scavenging. Scavenging influences aerosol distributions in the atmosphere, with consequent effects on cloud properties, radiative forcing, and human health. In this study, we investigated the below-cloud scavenging process, specifically focusing on the scavenging of 0.2 to 2 µm-sized microbial aerosols by populations of water drops with average diameters of 3.0 and 3.6 mm. Rainfall was simulated in convective boundary layer air masses by dispensing the water drops from a 55 m bridge and collecting them at ground level. Particles and microbial cells scavenged by the water drops were visualized, enumerated, and sized using scanning electron and epifluorescence microscopy. Aerosolized particles and DNA-containing microbial cells of 2 µm diameter were scavenged at efficiencies similar to those reported previously in empirical studies; however, the efficiencies derived for smaller aerosols were significantly higher (one to three orders of magnitude) than those predicted by microphysical modeling. Application of the derived scavenging efficiencies to cell data from rainfall implies that, on average, approximately 50 to 70% of the 1 µm microbial cells in the precipitation originated from within the cloud. Further study of submicron to micron-sized aerosol scavenging over a broader raindrop size distribution would improve fundamental understanding of the scavenging process and the capacity to estimate (bio)aerosol abundances in the source cloud through analysis of rainfall.

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Section: Simulated Rain Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Briefly, the frozen water drops collected in the liquid nitrogen were recovered and placed into individual microcentrifuge tubes. These drops were then thawed and their volume was determined using a micropipette [23].…”

Section: Simulated Rain Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall

et al. 2020

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Seasonal ice nucleation activity of water samples from alpine rivers and lakes in Obergurgl, Austria

Baloh

Hanlon

Anderson

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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Diversity and ice nucleation activity of Pseudomonas syringae in drone-based water samples from eight lakes in Austria

Hanlon,

Jimenez-Sanchez,

Benson

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Bacteria from the Pseudomonas syringae complex (comprised of at least 15 recognized species and more than 60 different pathovars of P. syringae sensu stricto) have been cultured from clouds, rain, snow, streams, rivers, and lakes. Some strains of P. syringae express an ice nucleation protein (hereafter referred to as ice+) that catalyzes the heterogeneous freezing of water. Though P. syringae has been sampled intensively from freshwater sources in the U.S. and France, little is known about the genetic diversity and ice nucleation activity of P. syringae in other parts of the world. We investigated the haplotype diversity and ice nucleation activity at −8 °C (ice+) of strains of P. syringae from water samples collected with drones in eight freshwater lakes in Austria. A phylogenetic analysis of citrate synthase (cts) sequences from 271 strains of bacteria isolated from a semi-selective medium for Pseudomonas revealed that 69% (188/271) belonged to the P. syringae complex and represented 32 haplotypes in phylogroups 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15. Strains within the P. syringae complex were identified in all eight lakes, and seven lakes contained ice+ strains. Partial 16S rDNA sequences were analyzed from a total of 492 pure cultures of bacteria isolated from non-selective medium. Nearly half (43.5%; 214/492) were associated with the genus Pseudomonas. Five of the lakes (ALT, GRU, GOS, GOL, and WOR) were all distinguished by high levels of Pseudomanas (p ≤ 0.001). HIN, the highest elevation lake, had the highest percentage of ice+ strains. Our work highlights the potential for uncovering new haplotypes of P. syringae in aquatic habitats, and the use of robotic technologies to sample and characterize microbial life in remote settings.

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Microbial diversity of individual raindrops collected from simulated and natural precipitation events

Cited by 3 publications

References 47 publications

Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall

Scavenging of Sub-Micron to Micron-Sized Microbial Aerosols during Simulated Rainfall

Seasonal ice nucleation activity of water samples from alpine rivers and lakes in Obergurgl, Austria

Diversity and ice nucleation activity of Pseudomonas syringae in drone-based water samples from eight lakes in Austria

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