Abstract
BackgroundFungal spores dispersed in the atmosphere may become cause of different pathological conditions and allergies for human beings. A number of studies have been performed to analyze the diversity of airborne fungi in different environments worldwide, and in particular in many urban areas in China. We investigated, for the first time, the diversity, concentration and distribution of airborne fungi in Tianjin city. We sampled 8 outdoor environments, using open plate method, during a whole winter season. Isolated fungi were identified by morphological and molecular analysis. Environmental factors which could influence the airborne fungi concentration (temperature, humidity, wind speed, and air pressure) were monitored and analyzed. The effect of different urban site functions (busy areas with high traffic flow and commercial activities vs. green areas) on airborne fungal diversity was also analyzed.ResultsA total of 560 fungal strains, belonging to 110 species and 49 genera of Ascomycota (80 %), Basidiomycota (18 %), and Mucoromycota (2 %) were isolated in this study. The dominant fungal genus was Alternaria (22 %), followed by Cladosporium (18.4 %), Naganishia (14.1 %), Fusarium (5.9 %), Phoma (4.11 %), and Didymella (4.8 %). A fungal concentration ranging from 0 to 3224.13 CFU m− 3 was recorded during the whole study. Permutational multivariate analysis showed that the month was the most influential factor for airborne fungal community structure, probably because it can be regarded as a proxy of environmental variables, followed by wind speed. The two analyzed environments (busy vs. green) had no detectable effect on the air fungal community, which could be related to the relatively small size of parks in Tianjin and/or to the study season.ConclusionsOur study shed light on the highly diverse community of airborne fungi characterizing the outdoor environments of Tianjin, and clarified the role that different environmental factors played in shaping the analyzed fungal community. The dominant presence of fungi with potential hazardous effect on human health, such as Alternaria, Cladosporium and Naganishia, deserves further attention. Our results may represent a valuable source of information for air quality monitoring, microbial pollution control, and airborne diseases prevention.
Highlights
Fungal spores dispersed in the atmosphere may become cause of different pathological conditions and allergies for human beings
Among the dominant fungal genera, approximately 22 % of the total identified strains belonged to the genus Alternaria, followed by Cladosporium 18.4 %, Naganishia 14.1 %, Fusarium 5.9 %, Phoma 4.11 %, and Didymella 4.8 % (Supplementary Table S4)
Concerning the two culture media used in this study, 47.5 % colonies were isolated on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA), whereas 52.5 % fungal strains were obtained on Malt Extract Agar (MEA) (Fig. 3)
Summary
Fungal spores dispersed in the atmosphere may become cause of different pathological conditions and allergies for human beings. Fungi are one of the most abundant, widely distributed and pervasive group of organisms on Earth [1] These organisms are ubiquitous in nature, playing different roles in the environment as symbionts, saprotrophs or parasites, which enable them to colonize diverse habitats [2]. Spores of different fungal species are dispersed in the atmosphere airborne fungi play a critical role in air pollution [5], which can alter biotic and/or abiotic factors of the environment, affecting human health [6]. The diversity and concentration of airborne fungi in a certain area depend on environmental condition, human activity and availability of substrate for fungal growth [7, 8]. Knowledge about the identity and relative frequencies of airborne fungi in the environment is necessary to evaluate potential health hazards [5]
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