Fungi diversity in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub> at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation

Abstract

Abstract. Fungi are ubiquitous throughout the near-surface atmosphere, where they represent an important component of primary biological aerosol particles. This study combined internal transcribed spacer region sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to investigate the ambient fungi in fine (PM 2.5 , 50 % cutoff aerodynamic diameter D a50 = 2.5 µm, geometric standard deviation of collection efficiency σ g = 1.2) and submicron (PM 1 , D a50 = 1 µm, σ g = 1.2) particles at the summit of Mt. Tai located in the North China Plain, China. Fungal abundance values were 9.4 × 10 4 and 1.3 × 10 5 copies m −3 in PM 2.5 and PM 1 , respectively. Most of the fungal sequences were from Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, which are known to actively discharge spores into the atmosphere. The fungal community showed a significant seasonal shift across different size fractions according to Metastats analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. The abundance of Glomerella and Zasmidium increased in larger particles in autumn, whereas Penicillium, Bullera, and Phaeosphaeria increased in smaller particles in winter. Environmental factors, namely Ca 2+ , humidity, and temperature, were found to be crucial for the seasonal variation in the fungal community. This study might serve as an important reference for fungal contribution to primary biological aerosol particles.

Profile of inhalable bacteria in PM2.5 at Mt. Tai, China: Abundance, community, and influence of air mass trajectories

“…Tai is a tilted fault block mountain with height increasing from the north to the south, facing to the East China Sea and back on the yellow river to the west. In this region, the airborne bacterial populations in cloud system and fungal populations in particles have been reported before [24][25][26] .…”

“…The preponderant gram-negative bacteria inhabited in the cold and leaf-surface environments which were involved in the cloud condensation/ice nuclei formation and pathogenicity, demonstrating their importance in ecology, epidemiology and human health [24][25] . The pioneering studies were lack of a comprehensive and compound research on the bacteria in particles.…”

Abundance and Diurnal Trends of Fluorescent Bioaerosols in the Troposphere over Mt. Tai, China, in Spring

“…The mountain is located at the east of the East Asian Continent (Kawamura et al, ). When subtropical westerlies prevail, air masses transporting aerosols over the North China Plain can affect the downwind areas of the Korean Peninsula, Japanese Islands, and the North Pacific Ocean (Fu et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Zhu, et al, ). According to a year‐round study at Mt.…”

“…Comparing with land surface environments, field characterization of bioaerosols at high altitudes is still very limited (Després et al, ; Fu et al, ). The bioaerosols at this site have been discussed mainly based on bulk filter analysis for molecular tracers and genetic materials (Fu et al, ; Wang et al, ; M. Wei et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Zhu, et al, ). Genetic sequencing of the fungal species and bacteria in aerosols and cloud water has been reported for this site (M. Wei et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Sui, et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Zhu, et al, ).…”

“…The bioaerosols at this site have been discussed mainly based on bulk filter analysis for molecular tracers and genetic materials (Fu et al, ; Wang et al, ; M. Wei et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Zhu, et al, ). Genetic sequencing of the fungal species and bacteria in aerosols and cloud water has been reported for this site (M. Wei et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Sui, et al, ; Xu, Wei, Chen, Zhu, et al, ). These studies presented fungal sequencing data showing variations in PM 2.5 and PM 1 for the summer, autumn, and winter seasons.…”