Atmosphere: A Source of Pathogenic or Beneficial Microbes?

Abstract

The atmosphere has been described as one of the last frontiers of biological exploration on Earth. The composition of microbial communities in the atmosphere is still not well-defined, and taxonomic studies of bacterial diversity in the outdoor air have just started to emerge, whereas our knowledge about the functional potential of air microbiota is scant. When in the air, microorganisms can be attached to ambient particles and/or incorporated into water droplets of clouds, fog, and precipitation (i.e., rain, snow, hail). Further, they can be deposited back to earth’s surfaces via dry and wet deposition processes and they can possibly induce an effect on the diversity and function of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems or impose impacts to human health through microbial pathogens dispersion. In addition to their impact on ecosystem and public health, there are strong indications that air microbes are metabolically active and well adapted to the harsh atmospheric conditions. Furthermore they can affect atmospheric chemistry and physics, with important implications in meteorology and global climate. This review summarizes current knowledge about the ubiquitous presence of microbes in the atmosphere and discusses their ability to survive in the atmospheric environment. The purpose is to evaluate the atmospheric environment as a source of pathogenic or beneficial microbes and to assess the biotechnological opportunities that may offer

The Impact of Atmospheric Dry Deposition Associated Microbes on the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea Surface Water following an Intense Dust Storm

“…These atmospheric inputs provide a variety of nutrients and trace metals (Table S1 and reviewed in Guieu et al, 2014), which are required for microbial cellular metabolism, enzymatic activity and growth (e.g., Cvetkovic et al, 2010;Huertas et al, 2014). In addition to nutrients and trace metals, atmospheric deposition may also introduce a wide array of airborne microorganisms to surface seawater (reviewed in Griffin, 2007;Polymenakou, 2012). Some of these microbes can remain viable and fix carbon (C) and dinitrogen (N 2 ) upon deposition in seawater (Rahav et al, 2016a).…”

“…Aerosols may also contain a wide array of microorganisms (reviewed in Griffin, 2007;Després et al, 2012;Polymenakou, 2012), which can be transported thousands of kilometers from their place of origin within a few days (Prospero et al, 2005;Kellogg and Griffin, 2006). These aerosol-associated (airborne) microbes may include heterotrophic bacteria (e.g., Seifried et al, 2015), fungi (e.g., Dannemiller et al, 2014), cyanobacteria, chemolitoptophic bacteria, and other autotrophic algae (e.g., Marshall and Chalmers, 1997;Lang-Yona et al, 2014;Gat et al, 2016), as well as viruses (e.g., Chow and Suttle, 2015).…”

Dynamics (seasonal and intra-diurnal) of air-borne fungal spore population of Doha area, Qatar

“…During drier years, a higher fungal spores in the air was reported (Pakpour et al, 2015) Rainfall might acts as a vacuum cleaner which clean the air by wet deposition mechanism and thus fungal spores are forced to settle down on the ground or another surfaces (Katial et al, 1997;Polymenakou, 2012).Contrary results were noted by Abu-Dieyeh et al (2010) who recorded the highest colonies count events post the heaviest precipitation and moderate temperature conditions, in Zarqa area, Jordan (Arid Irrano-terranean climate). Heo et al (2014) agreed with Abu-Dieyeh et al, (2010), they found the concentration of fungal bioaersols was much higher during rainy season than in non-rainy days.…”

The role of open-air inhalatoria in the air quality improvement in spa towns

“…Within one day an average person inhales approximately 10 000-12 000 l (12-14 kg) of air along with various contaminants, which is many times more than the amount of water they drink or food they consume. In addition to industrial contaminants (gases and dust), air always contains microbiological con taminants, including viruses, bacteria and fungal spores present in the air in a form of aerosol [1][2][3]. Due to the negative impact of various microorganisms on the health of humans, animals and plants, microbiological air contamination has become an issue of growing con cern [4,5].…”

“…Due to the negative impact of various microorganisms on the health of humans, animals and plants, microbiological air contamination has become an issue of growing con cern [4,5]. It must be additionally accentuated that it is the airborne transmission that constitutes the fastest way of spreading microbial contaminants [3,6]. Apart from saprophytic microorganisms, air may also con tain numerous pathogenic, allergenic and toxigenic micro organisms which pose a serious health risk for humans [3].…”