AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Aerosolization of Two Strains (Ice+ and Ice-) of Pseudomonas Syringae in a Collison Nebulizer at Different Temperatures
RENEE PIETSCH, Ray David, Linsey Marr, Boris Vinatzer, David Schmale, Virginia Tech
Abstract Number: 227 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract The aerosolization of microorganisms from aquatic environments is understudied. In this study, an ice nucleation active (ice+) strain and a non-ice nucleation active (ice-) strain of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae were aerosolized from aqueous suspensions under artificial laboratory conditions using a Collison nebulizer. The aerosolization of P. syringae was not influenced by water temperatures between 5 degrees and 30 degrees C. In general, the culturability (viability) of P. syringae in aerosols increased with temperature between 5 degrees and 30 degrees C. The ice+ strain was aerosolized in greater numbers than the ice- strain at all temperatures studied, suggesting a possible connection between the ice nucleation phenotype and aerosol production. Together, our results suggest that P. syringae has the potential to be aerosolized from natural aquatic environments, such as streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes; known reservoirs of P. syringae. Future work is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of aerosolization of P. syringae from natural aquatic systems.