Abstract
Strong evidence of the presence of bacteria and fungi in the tropospheric boundary layer is available in the literature. We report successful isolation of unique morphotypes of wild ascomycetous yeasts from rainwater samples collected directly in sterile containers, taking extreme care to avoid ambient contamination. Direct and quick visualization of fresh rainwater samples under a phase contrast microscope indicated the sporadic presence of yeast cells. Further confirmation of the presence of yeast was obtained by plating of rainwater on a medium with antibiotics to generate pure colonies. We described their characteristics while molecular identification revealed it as Candida tropicalis. Yeast species could contribute valuable knowledge about yeast transportation in the atmosphere. However, knowledge is insufficient about the yeast deposited from the atmosphere and its transportation across the atmosphere. We report and discuss these interesting and exciting results which are useful in understanding the microbiological dimension of meteorology and the southwest monsoon rainfall in the light of present discourse on global warming and climate change. We offer a tentative model for a possible source, role, and fate of the yeasts in rainwater.
Highlights
The period June to September in India is considered the southwest monsoon period
Further isolates were grown in the MEA media and modified agar media and studied for their morphological change in nutrient rich (MEA) and nutrient poor media.Morphology variation was observed on the MEA media prepared with sterile distilled water and on the agar media prepared with sterile rain water
Candida tropicalis has never been suspected as entering the southwest monsoon airborne cloud environment, this is the first report of Candida sp. and Candida tropicalis in rainwater
Summary
The period June to September in India is considered the southwest monsoon period. It is the main rainy season of the Indian subcontinent. Nucleation of cloud Aerosols are an important factor of climate, directly scattering light, seeding warm clouds, and seeding ice-clouds. A marine aerosol population transits into cloud droplets and ice crystals. Aerosol rises from the marine environment and from continents, are formedby the gas phase (e.g. DMS) emissionand from primary particles
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