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.
Highlights
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology and Genetics, Gournes Pediados, Tel.: +30-2810-337855; Fax: +30-2810-337870
This review summarizes current knowledge about the ubiquitous presence of microbes in the atmosphere and discusses their ability to survive in the atmospheric environment
Our results demonstrated the potential of aerosolized bacteria for long-range transboundary transportation and foreshadowed their negative impact on human, agricultural and ecosystem health [44]
Summary
Bioaerosols are considered ubiquitous constituents of the atmosphere, as a large number of these particles are small-sized microorganisms. In 2007, Brodie, et al [50] used clone libraries and high-density DNA microarrays to detect a diverse bacterial community in the urban aerosols of two large US cities Using these highly selective techniques, they were able to identify pathogenic members including environmental relatives of bioterrorism significance. In 2008, a short-term temporal variability in the airborne microbial assemblages was investigated at a single site using 16S rRNA gene analysis [51] At this site, the air samples were dominated by ascomycete fungi of the Hypocreales order and a diverse array of bacteria, including members of the proteobacterial and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroidetes groups that are commonly found in comparable culture-independent surveys of airborne bacteria. Pathogenic strains as well as sequences closely resembling bacteria known to act as ice nuclei were found whereas the origin of the sampled air mass indicating a predominant marine source [55]
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