Abstract
Abstract. Airborne fungal spores are an important fraction of atmospheric particulate matter and are major causative agents of allergenic and infectious diseases. Predicting the variability and species of allergy-causing fungal spores requires detailed and reliable methods for identification and quantification. There are diverse methods for their detection in the atmosphere and in the indoor environments; yet, it is important to optimize suitable methods for characterization of fungal spores in atmospheric samples. In this study we sampled and characterized total and specific airborne fungal spores from PM10 samples collected in Rehovot, Israel over an entire year. The total fungal spore concentrations vary throughout the year although the species variability was nearly the same. Seasonal equivalent spore concentrations analyzed by real-time quantitative-PCR-based methods were fall > winter > spring > summer. Reported concentrations based on ergosterol analysis for the same samples were and fall > spring > winter > summer. Correlation between the two analytical methods was found only for the spring season. These poor associations may be due to the per-spore ergosterol variations that arise from both varying production rates, as well as molecular degradation of ergosterol. While conversion of genome copies to spore concentration is not yet straightforward, the potential for improving this conversion and the ability of qPCR to identify groups of fungi or specific species makes this method preferable for environmental spore quantification. Identifying tools for establishing the relation between the presence of species and the actual ability to induce allergies is still needed in order to predict the effect on human health.
Highlights
Fungi are ubiquitous eukaryotic organisms that produce spores with the capability of long-range dispersal throughout the lower troposphere (Breitenbach et al, 2002)
Understanding the diversity along with the spatial and temporal distribution of airborne fungal spores is of increasing importance because fungal spores and other propagules can potentially act as sources of plant diseases (Madelin, 1994), human allergens (Breitenbach et al, 2002; Kurup et al, 2000), animal and human infectious agents (Enoch et al, 2006), and produce mycotoxins along with other deleterious secondary metabolites (Garvey and Keller, 2010)
Accounting for the DNA extraction efficiency from fungal cells of 10 % (Hospodsky et al, 2010) a sampling volume of 4881.6 m3 (72-h sampling with 67.8 m3 h−1), and fractions of the DNA extracts and the filter area used for the qPCR analysis, the overall method detection limits (MDL) in air concentration were 8.6, 4.9, 0.9, 1.2, 1.2, 49.3, and 0.9 cell m−3 for FF2/FR1, A. alternata (Aaltr), A. fumigatus (Afumi), Cclad2, E. nigrum (Enigr), PenGrp3, and PenAsp1mgb, respectively
Summary
Fungi are ubiquitous eukaryotic organisms that produce spores with the capability of long-range dispersal throughout the lower troposphere (Breitenbach et al, 2002). Understanding the diversity along with the spatial and temporal distribution of airborne fungal spores is of increasing importance because fungal spores and other propagules can potentially act as sources of plant diseases (Madelin, 1994), human allergens (Breitenbach et al, 2002; Kurup et al, 2000), animal and human infectious agents (Enoch et al, 2006), and produce mycotoxins along with other deleterious secondary metabolites (Garvey and Keller, 2010). Elevated CO2 concentrations (Kilronomos et al, 1997) or increased temperatures (Gange et al, 2007) have been shown to positively correlate with increases in fungal biomass. Lang-Yona et al.: Allergenic fungal spores in atmospheric particulate matter associated with global climate change and may impact human health and economics
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