Aerobiology

Aerobiology studies the biological particles suspended in the atmosphere in order to know what types are present in the air and how their concentrations vary spatially or seasonally. The measurement of airborne pollen concentration requires a standardized methodology. Normally, the analysis of the slides obtained after samplings is carried out according to national network procedures. Different networks use different slide counting methods (longitudinal sweeps, transverse sweeps or random fields), and a different number of lines/fields are routinely read. In this study, we compared two slide counting methods adopted by two monitoring centres belonging to different aerobiology networks that operate in southern Europe, the University of Malaga (Spanish Aerobiology Network, the REA) and the University of Roma Tor Vergata (Rete Italiana di Monitoraggio in Aerobiologia, the RIMA). For that, the same samples were counted following the two methodologies consisting on the reading of four (REA) and six (RIMA), respectively, longitudinal sweeps at a magnification of 400X (REA). Statistical analysis was performed in order to search the degree of association between the two series of data obtained, as well as whether or not there were significant differences between them. The results showed highly significant correlation and regression coefficients. On the other hand, Wilcoxon tests, in general, did not showed significant differences between the series for the total pollen as well as for the major pollen types. This confirms that the two methods can be used indistinctly although it would be convenient for the different networks to standardize and unify methodologies in order to follow the same operating procedures.

A palynological study was carried out on 28 corpses brought in one year (June 2003–May 2004) to the morgue of the Institute of Legal Medicine of Parma (Northern Italy). This preliminary research focuses on the date of death, which was known for all corpses examined. Pollen sampling and analyses were made with the first aim of comparing the pollen grains found on corpses with those diffused in the atmosphere in the region in the same season as the known date of death. Eyebrows, hair-line near the forehead, facial skin and nasal cavities were sampled. Most of the corpses had trapped pollen grains, with the exception of two December corpses. All pollen grains were found with cytoplasm and in a good state of preservation. In this way, a series of reference data was collected for the area where the deaths occurred, and we examined whether pollen grains on corpses could be an index of the season of death. To verify this hypothesis, the pollen analyses were compared with data reported in the airborne pollen calendars of Parma and the region around. Pollen calendars record pollen types and their concentrations in the air, month by month. The quantity of pollen recorded on corpses did not prove to be directly related to the quantity of pollen in the air. But qualitatively, many pollen types which are seasonal markers were found on corpses. Main corpse/air discrepancies were also observed due to the great influence that the local environmental conditions of the death scene have in determining the pollen trapped by a corpse. Qualitative plus quantitative pollen data from corpses appeared helpful in indicating the season of death. A preliminary sketch of a ''crime pollen calendar'' in a synthetic graphic form was made by grouping the corpse pollen records into three main seasons: A, winter/spring; B, spring/summer; C, summer/autumn. Trends match the general seasonal trend of pollen types in the air.

Global spread of the pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) may involve dispersal mechanisms not previously explored. Weather systems accompanied by strong wind and rainfall have been known to assist the dispersal of microbes pathogenic to plants and animals, and we considered a similar phenomenon might occur with Bd. We investigated this concept by sampling rainwater from 20 precipitation events for the presence of Bd in Cusuco National Park, Honduras: a site where high Bd prevalence was previously detected in stream-associated amphibians. Quantitative PCR analysis confirmed the presence of Bd in rainwater in one (5 %) of the weather events sampled, although viability cannot be ascertained from molecular presence alone. The source of the Bd and distance that the contaminated rainwater traveled could not be determined; however, this collection site was located approximately 600 m from the nearest observed perennial river by straight-line aerial distance. Although our results suggest atmospheric Bd dispersal is uncommon and unpredictable, even occasional short-distance aerial transport could considerably expand the taxonomic diversity of amphibians vulnerable to exposure and at risk of decline, including terrestrial and arboreal species that are not associated with permanent water bodies.

Laboratory is the basic need of scientific research provided with several equipments, materials including cellulosic and non-cellulosic substrates. These substrates are degraded by diverse group of fungal microbes in a set of climate, indirectly polluting the indoor environment. In the present study aeromycoflora from various laboratories was reported for a month at an interval of a week. A population of 3368 fungal colonies falls under 19 genera and 28 species have been confined by culture plate exposer method. Ascomycota contributed with more than half of the total colonies recorded while Oomycota had least colonies. Zygomycota and Deuteromycota contributed moderate count of colonies. No member of Basidiomycota did persist. Aspergillus had higher colony count as well as greater species number. The sub-dominant air spora included Cladosporium cladosporoides, Mucor pusillus and Rhizopus stolonifer. The genus Fusarium had 3 species; Penicillium, Curvularia, Alternaria recorded with 2 species and others with single species.  Prevalence of diverse group of fungal organisms on cellulosic material in laboratories depends on changing indoor environment. The climate of Lab IV was comparatively more ideal for fungal sporulation during survey

This work presents a study on the airborne bacteria recorded in three Andalusian show caves, subjected to different managements. The main differences within the caves were the absence of lighting and phototrophic biofilms in Cueva de Ardales, the periodic maintenance and low occurrence of phototrophic biofilms in Gruta de las Maravillas, and the abundance of phototrophic biofilms in speleothems and walls in Cueva del Tesoro. These factors conditioned the diversity of bacteria in the caves and therefore there are large differences among the CFU m-3 , determined using a suction impact collector, equipment widely used in aerobiological studies. The study of the bacterial diversity, inside and outside the caves, indicates that the air is mostly populated by bacteria thriving in the subterranean environment. In addition, the diversity seems to be related with the presence of abundant phototrophic biofilms, but not with the number of visitors received by each cave.

Microbial communities have not been studied using molecular approaches at high elevations on the African continent. Here we describe the diversity of microbial communities from ice and periglacial soils from near the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro by using both Illumina and Sanger sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes. Ice and periglacial soils contain unexpectedly diverse and rich assemblages of Bacteria and eukarya indicating that there may be high rates of dispersal to the top of this tropical mountain and/or that the habitat is more conducive to microbial life than was previously thought. Most bacterial otUs are cosmopolitan and an analysis of isolation by geographic distance patterns of the genus Polaromonas emphasized the importance of global Aeolian transport in the assembly of bacterial communities on Kilimanjaro. the eukaryotic communities were less diverse than the bacterial communities and showed more evidence of dispersal limitations and apparent endemism. Cercozoa dominated the 18S communities, including a high abundance of testate amoebae and a high diversity of endemic OTUs within the Vampyrellida. these results argue for more intense study of this unique high-elevation "island of the cryosphere" before the glaciers of Kilimanjaro disappear forever.

Background: Pollen is a major cause of allergic respiratory diseases. In Qatar, data on the presence and prevalence of allergenic airborne types of pollen is quite limited. Methods: The study aimed to determine and correlate the most frequently implicated airborne pollen detected by aerobiological monitoring samplers in respiratory allergy symptoms. An aerobiological survey was started on May 8, 2017. Airborne pollen was collected using two Hirst type seven-day recorder volumetric traps. Skin prick test in patients attending allergy clinics in Doha using commercial extracts was conducted. Results: Twenty-five pollen types representing the native, as well as the introduced plants, with a relatively low daily mean concentration were observed from May 2017 to May 2019. The highest pollen concentrations were reached by Amaranthaceae (58.9%), followed by Poaceae (21.7%). SPT revealed a comparatively higher degree of sensitization to pollen. Among 940 patients, 204 were sensitized to pollen (54% female) with 135 (66.2%) and 114 (55.8%) to Amaran-thaceae and Poaceae, respectively. Some patients had polysensitization. There was a statistically significant association between Amaranthaceae, and asthma (r = 0.169, P = 0.016) and allergic rhinitis (r = 0.177, P = 0.012). Conclusions: This is the first study to monitor airborne pollen in the state of Qatar. The main pollen detected were Amaranthaceae and Poaceae. Pollen may represent a possible exacerbating factor in adult patients with allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) are involved in multiple phenomena ranging from seasonal allergies to pandemic diseases. Furthermore, PBAPs that act as ice nuclei, might interact with cloud physics affecting the formation of hail and, potentially, causing damage to agriculture. These latter dynamics are still unclear, especially due to the lack of knowledge about PBAPs concentration and emission rates. Here we characterized the fungal aerobiology of Arceburgo, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, through ground level and airborne sampling of PBAPs via a hot-air balloon. Total and cultivable fungal spores were collected using personal portable Burkard and a MAS100 sampler respectively during the summer and winter of 2019. In the latter season, daily dynamics were resolved by repeating flights and sampling in the morning and in the afternoon. Both samplers identified a core fungal community ( Penicillum/Aspergillus and Cladosporium spp.) that are coupled with local meteorological dynamics and are able to undergo atmospheric transport as indicated by their survival in the night-time residual boundary layer. These results are invaluable in identifying a core set of aerobiological indicators that can be used in future works to unravel PBAPs emission rates on the area of Arceburgo and form a basis to close the gap in knowledge in the interplay between PBAPs and hail formation.

A B S T R A C T This paper deals with aerobiological analyses realised during last 25 years in the atmosphere of Malaga, a coastal city located in the southwest of the Mediterranean Basin. Air sampling was performed by means of 7-day recording volumetric pollen and spore traps, and pollen grains were counted with the aid of a light microscope, according to the methodology proposed by the Spanish Aerobiology Network. Pollen data were expressed as number of pollen grains per cubic metre of air. A peak in Quercus pollen production approximately every four years was detected, coinciding with drought periods. Although the natural vegetation of the studied area has been altered by urban growth and reforestation with pines, it is still represented by a disperse natural population of cork oak, holm oak and kermes oak (predominantly located to the northwest and northeast of the city). In this period the seasonal behaviour of anemophilous pollination of Quercus was studied, along with the relation between its intensity (pollen production) or temporality (phenophase of flowering) and meteorological or climatic variables. Also a study of trends in production and phenology of flowering was carried out. The annual intensity of anemophilous pollination of Quercus was significantly associated with the meteorological conditions of each spring, with the same parameters involved and in the same way as were seen on the daily and weekly scale (positive correlation with temperature and insolation, and negative with precipitation and relative humidity). The tendency for temperature and atmospheric aridity to increase is probably the cause of the trend observed in the spring Quercus pollen production to increase in the western Mediterranean. The temporality of Quercus anemophilous pollination (start date, peak date, end date and duration) changes each year and is positively associated with accumulated temperature and sun hours from 1st January until the dates in question. An accumulation of approximately 796 °C above the 9 °C threshold temperature from 1st January is necessary to trigger the start of the flowering period. We conclude that the effect of climatic change is mainly reflected in the pollination intensity of woody anemophilous species, which, in turn, have adapted their flowering time (phe-nology) to climate change. It is important to remember that climate change is leading to more arid conditions and that Mediterranean plants are adapted to this macrobioclimate (Mediterranean), which is characterized by a long dry period and high temperatures.

Daily fluctuations of the airborne pollen concentrations produce variations on symptomatology in allergic population. Such fluctuations are influenced by local vegetal coverage, flowering phenology, geography and climatology. Since 1991, airborne pollen of Malaga province (southern Spain) has been monitored in 7 different locations. Malaga station has been kept operational uninterruptedly throughout the studied period, while the rest of the stations only worked in periods of 2-4 years. Weekly, its pollen information is updated online to inform the population in order to prevent allergic diseases. Increasing the spatial resolution of pollen information would be very useful for allergic population living at unsampled locations. Due to the impossibility of keeping operational a high number of pollen stations covering the whole province of Malaga, the aim of this study is to create spatial models to extrapolate and forecast the pollen concentrations to Malaga province by using the concentrations registered at the capital as unique input. To do so, the relationships obtained between the airborne pollen concentrations detected at Malaga city and those detected at the other stations have been used to elaborate models for the main pollen types registered at the province. These models were spatially interpolated all over the province by using co-kriging techniques and the Compensated Thermicity Index as covariable. As result of this work, pollen distribution of the 8 most prevalent taxa has been depicted all over the whole Malaga province and an allergy alert system has been set up to extrapolate pollen information from Malaga to the whole province.

The concentration of airborne spores of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. has been
investigated at three monitoring stations situated along the west-north and central-east
transect in Poland (Szczecin, Olsztyn,Warszawa,) i.e. from a height of 100mto 149mabove sea
level. The aerobiological monitoring of fungal spores was performed by means of three Lanzoni
volumetric spore traps.
Cladosporium spp. spores were dominant at all the stations. The highest Cladosporium spp. and
Alternaria spp. numbers of spores were observed at all the cities in July and August.
Statistically significant correlations have been found between the Cladosporium spp. and
Alternaria spp. concentration in the air and the mean air temperature, amount of precipitation,
air pressure and relative air humidity. The spore count of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp.
is determined by the diversity of local flora and weather conditions, especially by the air
temperature. The identification of factors, which influence and shape spore concentrations,
may significantly improve the current methods of allergy prevention.
A. Grinn-Gofroń, P. Rapiejko / Atmospheric Research 93 (2009) 747–758