10th International Aerosol Conference September 2 - September 7, 2018 America's Center Convention Complex St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Microbial Population Structure in Aerosols from Near-ground during Fog–haze Days in Northern China
YUNPING HAN, Mengzhu Zhang, Lin Li, Junxin Liu, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Abstract Number: 435 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Fog–haze events exhibit an episodic tendency in China. Aerosol particles during fog–haze days can affect human health and cause several diseases, particularly respiratory diseases. As such, the properties of aerosols and their microbial composition have been extensively investigated. The microbial properties of aerosols from near-ground are of different states under various weather conditions. However, microbial populations in aerosols from human breathing height under special weather conditions, such as fog–haze days, have been rarely examined. In our study, microbial populations in aerosols from near-ground (1.5 and 20 m) were investigated. Aerosols were sampled during and after fog–haze days.
All aerosol samples were consecutively collected at 1.5 m (breathing height) and 20 m (height of no surrounding obstacles) above ground during and after fog-haze days in northern China (116.34° E, 40.0 1° N). An impingement airborne microorganism sampler (SKC BioSampler, SKC Inc. USA) was used to collect aerosols. Clone library was used to analyzed microbial population.
A total of 400 sequences for bacteria and 200 sequences for fungi were obtained. After alignment was completed, 7, 2, 22, and 15 OTUs were identified in HYP-FZB20, HYP-FZB1.5, HYP-CB20, and HYP-CB1.5 clone libraries, respectively, and 7, 13, 1, and 4 OTUs were determined in the 50 screened fungal clones from HYP-FZF20, HYP-FZF1.5, HYP-CF20, and HYP-CF1.5 clone libraries, respectively. Coverage analysis indicated that the aerosol libraries represented approximately 83.00%–99.00% of the total number of the examined clones. Thus, a dependable inventory of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal 18S rRNA gene sequences present in aerosols is provided.
Results showed that the bacterial diversity in aerosols during fog–haze days was lower than that after fog–haze days. Proteobacteria alone and Proteobacteria with Firmicutes were respectively detected in aerosols at 1.5 and 20 m during fog–haze days. In addition to Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes alone and Acidobacteria with Verrucomicrobia were respectively found in aerosols at 20 and 1.5 m after fog–haze days. The fungal species observed during fog–haze days were completely different from those detected after fog–haze days. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were respectively detected during and after fog–haze days. The distribution of microbial diversity in aerosols exhibited meteorological and site-associated variations. The same potential pathogenic microorganisms were detected at different heights during fog–haze days. This study on the characteristics of microbial population in aerosols could provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors causing the harmful effects of particles on humans during fog–haze days.