Air pollution and its impact on the concentration of airborne fungi in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

In the context of megacities in an urban environment, air quality is an important issue, due to the direct correlation to population's health. The biomonitoring of pollutants can indicate subtle environmental alterations, for that, anemophilous fungi can be monitored for changes in atmospheric conditions related to pollution. In the present study, the concentration of fungi and bacteria in the atmosphere was measured during a specific vehicle fleet reduction in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, from May 24 to 30, 2018, using impactor air samplers. The number of isolated developed colonies was related to atmospheric conditions and the concentration of other air pollutants constantly monitored. Aspergillus, Curvularia, Penicillium, Neurospora, Rhizopus and Trichoderm a were identified. The number of colony-forming units increased by approximately 80% during the sampling period in response to environmental changes favored by the fleet reduction. This result implies the relation between fuel emissions, concentration of atmospheric pollutants, and the presence of viable fungal spores in the urban environment, which highlights the importance of combined public policies for air quality in large cities.

Contribution of Particulates to Airborne Disease Transmission and Severity: A Review

“…Although not using epidemiologic methods, several other studies have also investigated the association between airborne PM and pathogenic fungi. Castro e Silva et al (2020) reported that PM 10 concentrations showed statistically significant correlations with fungi concentrations in the urban air . The fungal genera identified in the collected samples were Aspergillus, Bipolaris , Curvularia , Penicillium , Neurospora , Rhizopus , and Trichoderma .…”

“…Castro e Silva et al ( 2020) reported that PM 10 concentrations showed statistically significant correlations with fungi concentrations in the urban air. 145 The fungal genera identified in the collected samples were Aspergillus, Bipolaris, Curvularia, Penicillium, Neurospora, Rhizopus, and Trichoderma. By comparing the number of isolated fungal colonies, by genus, between urban (ground and 23 rd floor) and rural sites, the urban sites have more diverse species (28 and 20 species on the ground and 23 rd floor, respectively) than rural (7 species).…”

Environmental and clinical mould spore risk thresholds

“…Urban areas tend to have higher contamination levels due to environmental changes, resulting in a 25-30% increase in fungal concentration compared to rural areas. 5 The environmental fungal population varies worldwide due to differing environmental conditions. The most commonly reported fungal genera globally include Aspergillus, Bipolaris, Curvularia, Penicillium, Neurospora, Rhizopus, and Trichoderma.…”

“…The most commonly reported fungal genera globally include Aspergillus, Bipolaris, Curvularia, Penicillium, Neurospora, Rhizopus, and Trichoderma. 5 The pathogenicity of environmental fungi also varies, necessitating the determination and control of thresholds for both total mould concentration and pathogenic fungal concentration. Cladosporium and Alternaria spores are among the leading environmental spores responsible for significant health problems.…”

Fungal bioassays for environmental monitoring

“…Due to their high sensitivity to air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) or SO 2 , fungal associations with roots (mycorrhiza) or algae (lichens) are considered good indicators of air quality ( Hage-Ahmed et al, 2019 ; Castro e Silva et al, 2020 ; Anderson et al, 2022 ). Considering that fungal-based air pollution bioassays are scarce, this property becomes promising for developing bioassays for the detection of atmospheric pollutants based on fungal associations.…”