Allergenic fungal spores and hyphal fragments in the aerosol of Havana, Cuba

Almaguer, Michel Guerra; Vázquez, Lilivet Díaz; Fernández-González, María; Valdéz, Elayne

doi:10.1007/s10453-020-09643-x

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Sampling was carried out continuously for 2 years from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, with slides changing every week. Alternaria spores are easily recognizable due to their typical morphology and were counted by direct microscopic observation (Carl Zeiss, Jena, Germany), using the methodology proposed by the Spanish Aerobiology Network, based on the observation of two longitudinal sections of a microscopic slide at a magnification of 400 [ 28 ]. Each section corresponds to a total area of 380 mm 2 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of Alternaria Leaf Blotch and Fruit Spot of Apple Control through the Management of Primary Inoculum

2022

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Alternaria spp. is the causal agent of apple leaf blotch and fruit spot, diseases of recent appearance in Spain. The overwinter inoculum of Alternaria spp. is the source of primary infections in apple, thus the aim of this work was to optimize the control of infection through two environmentally friendly inoculum-management strategies, the removal of winter fallen leaves and the treatment of leaves with the biological agent Trichoderma asperellum to inhibit or prevent inoculum development in commercial orchards. The results of commercial orchard trials showed that leaf aspiration and application of T. asperellum on the ground have efficacy to reduce fruit spot between 50 and 80% and leaf blotch of between 30 and 40% depending on the year. The efficacies on the reduction of leaf blotch were slightly lower than of fruit spot. Disease reduction has been related to a reduction of total spores released during the season. Results of dynamics of spore release indicate that factors influencing spore release were rainfall and temperature. In conclusion, the use of environmentally friendly strategies combined with standard fungicides, and with monitoring environmental conditions, might allow a reduction in the number of phytosanitary applications, thus achieving the goal of reducing their use.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of Alternaria Leaf Blotch and Fruit Spot of Apple Control through the Management of Primary Inoculum

2022

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“…The Burkard multi-vial cyclone sampler has a high sampling efficiency (93.82–100%), especially for small-sized (≤ 1 µm) bioaerosols (De Linares et al 2022 ; Humbal et al 2018 ; West et al 2008 ) compared with the Burkard 7-day sampler that is most efficient for collecting particles with an aerodynamic diameter of > 5.2 µm (Ščevková and Kovac 2019 ). Almaguer et al ( 2020 ) analysed fungal fragments alongside mature spores and found that hyphal fragments of Cladosporium and Leptosphaeria were abundant in the air and had no diurnal pattern. Their abundance and lack of diurnal pattern suggest that they are constantly abundant (day and night) in the air and hence can be captured by the cyclones.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using qPCR and microscopy to assess the impact of harvesting and weather conditions on the relationship between Alternaria alternata and Alternaria spp. spores in rural and urban atmospheres

et al. 2023

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Alternaria is a plant pathogen and human allergen. Alternaria alternata is one of the most abundant fungal spores in the air. The purpose of this study was to examine whether Alternaria spp. spore concentrations can be used to predict the abundance and spatio-temporal pattern of A. alternata spores in the air. This was investigated by testing the hypothesis that A. alternata dominates airborne Alternaria spp. spores and varies spatio-temporally. Secondarily, we aimed at investigating the relationship between airborne Alternaria spp. spores and the DNA profile of A. alternata spores between two proximate (~ 7 km apart) sites. These were examined by sampling Alternaria spp. spores using Burkard 7-day and cyclone samplers for the period 2016–2018 at Worcester and Lakeside campuses of the University of Worcester, UK. Daily Alternaria spp. spores from the Burkard traps were identified using optical microscopy whilst A. alternata from the cyclone samples was detected and quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results showed that either A. alternata or other Alternaria species spores dominate the airborne Alternaria spore concentrations, generally depending on weather conditions. Furthermore, although Alternaria spp. spore concentrations were similar for the two proximate sites, A. alternata spore concentrations significantly varied for those sites and it is highly likely that the airborne samples contained large amounts of small fragments of A. alternata. Overall, the study shows that there is a higher abundance of airborne Alternaria allergen than reported by aerobiological networks and the majority is likely to be from spore and hyphal fragments.

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