10th International Aerosol Conference September 2 - September 7, 2018 America's Center Convention Complex St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Abstract View
Variation of Microbial Community and Activity in PM2.5 in Beijing, China
RUI DU, Weishan Ren, Pengrui Du, Hanlin Chen, Sujian Zhang, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Abstract Number: 69 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Bacteria and fungi are primary constituents of airborne microbes in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and significantly impact human health. However, hitherto, seasonal variation and effect of air pollution on microbial community composition and microbial activity are poorly understood. This study analyzed the bacterial and fungal composition of PM2.5 using gene sequencing methods. Furthermore, The fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis method was also tested the microbial activity in atmospheric PM2.5 under different air pollution levels during different seasons in suburban Beijing. The results showed that the species richness and diversity of bacterial communities displayed a downtrend with the aggravation of air pollution. Additionally, the bacterial communities in spring samples showed the highest species richness, with average richness estimators, ACE and Chao 1, up to 14649 and 7608, respectively, followed by winter samples (7690 and 5031, respectively) and autumn samples (4368 and 3438, respectively), whereas summer samples exhibited the lowest average ACE and Chao 1 indexes (2916 and 1900, respectively). The species richness of fungal communities followed the same seasonal pattern. Pathogenic fungi were more abundant in winter than other seasons, but, there were no significant differences about the pathogenic bacteria and fungi under different air quality levels. In addition, the microbial activity in atmospheric PM2.5 under excellent and good air quality level was usually at the peak in different seasonal. Yet, the highest value was exhibited under good air quality level instead of under excellent level. Moreover, the microbial activity showed a downtrend with the aggravation of air pollution except for the strong heavy pollution level(AQI between 300-500). Surprisingly, the winter PM2.5 samples exhibited the top value of the microbial activity under the same air pollution level. To best of our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates seasonal variation characteristics of bacteria and fungi in PM2.5 in heavy haze contaminated areas and highlights the effects of air pollution on the atmospheric microbial community. This study would be useful to other bioaerosol studies focusing on the role of the atmospheric particulate matter on human health.
Keywords: PM2.5, Microbial community and activity, Variation, Air pollution level.