Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean
The atmosphere represents an underexplored temporary habitat for airborne microbial communities such as eukaryotes, whose taxonomic structure changes across different locations and/or regions as a function of both survival conditions and sources. A preliminary dataset on the seasonal dependence of t...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/8/518 |
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| author | Mattia Fragola Maria Rita Perrone Pietro Alifano Adelfia Talà Salvatore Romano |
| author_facet | Mattia Fragola Maria Rita Perrone Pietro Alifano Adelfia Talà Salvatore Romano |
| author_sort | Mattia Fragola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The atmosphere represents an underexplored temporary habitat for airborne microbial communities such as eukaryotes, whose taxonomic structure changes across different locations and/or regions as a function of both survival conditions and sources. A preliminary dataset on the seasonal dependence of the airborne eukaryotic community biodiversity, detected in PM10 samples collected from July 2018 to June 2019 at a coastal site representative of the Central Mediterranean, is provided in this study. Viridiplantae and Fungi were the most abundant eukaryotic kingdoms. Streptophyta was the prevailing Viridiplantae phylum, whilst Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the prevailing Fungi phyla. <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Panicum</i> were the most abundant Streptophyta genera in winter and summer, respectively, whereas <i>Olea</i> was the most abundant genus in spring and autumn. With regards to Fungi, <i>Botrytis</i> and <i>Colletotrichum</i> were the most abundant Ascomycota genera, reaching the highest abundance in spring and summer, respectively, while <i>Cryptococcus</i> and <i>Ustilago</i> were the most abundant Basidiomycota genera, and reached the highest abundance in winter and spring, respectively. The genus community structure in the PM10 samples varied day-by-day, and mainly along with the seasons. The impact of long-range transported air masses on the same structure was also proven. Nevertheless, rather few genera were significantly correlated with meteorological parameters and PM10 mass concentrations. The PCoA plots and non-parametric Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficients showed that the strongest correlations generally occurred between parameters reaching high abundances/values in the same season or PM10 sample. Moreover, the screening of potential pathogenic fungi allowed us to detect seven potential pathogenic genera in our PM10 samples. We also found that, with the exception of <i>Panicum</i> and <i>Physcomitrella</i>, all of the most abundant and pervasive identified Streptophyta genera could serve as potential sources of aeroallergens in the studied area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:19:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-28f20b9d3b1949258b5dda56b4ebe53b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:19:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-28f20b9d3b1949258b5dda56b4ebe53b2023-11-22T10:04:03ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512021-07-0113851810.3390/toxins13080518Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central MediterraneanMattia Fragola0Maria Rita Perrone1Pietro Alifano2Adelfia Talà3Salvatore Romano4Department of Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Mathematics and Physics, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, ItalyThe atmosphere represents an underexplored temporary habitat for airborne microbial communities such as eukaryotes, whose taxonomic structure changes across different locations and/or regions as a function of both survival conditions and sources. A preliminary dataset on the seasonal dependence of the airborne eukaryotic community biodiversity, detected in PM10 samples collected from July 2018 to June 2019 at a coastal site representative of the Central Mediterranean, is provided in this study. Viridiplantae and Fungi were the most abundant eukaryotic kingdoms. Streptophyta was the prevailing Viridiplantae phylum, whilst Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the prevailing Fungi phyla. <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Panicum</i> were the most abundant Streptophyta genera in winter and summer, respectively, whereas <i>Olea</i> was the most abundant genus in spring and autumn. With regards to Fungi, <i>Botrytis</i> and <i>Colletotrichum</i> were the most abundant Ascomycota genera, reaching the highest abundance in spring and summer, respectively, while <i>Cryptococcus</i> and <i>Ustilago</i> were the most abundant Basidiomycota genera, and reached the highest abundance in winter and spring, respectively. The genus community structure in the PM10 samples varied day-by-day, and mainly along with the seasons. The impact of long-range transported air masses on the same structure was also proven. Nevertheless, rather few genera were significantly correlated with meteorological parameters and PM10 mass concentrations. The PCoA plots and non-parametric Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficients showed that the strongest correlations generally occurred between parameters reaching high abundances/values in the same season or PM10 sample. Moreover, the screening of potential pathogenic fungi allowed us to detect seven potential pathogenic genera in our PM10 samples. We also found that, with the exception of <i>Panicum</i> and <i>Physcomitrella</i>, all of the most abundant and pervasive identified Streptophyta genera could serve as potential sources of aeroallergens in the studied area.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/8/518eukaryotic community structureairborne PM10 sampleshigh-throughput sequencingfungi genus seasonalityplant genus seasonality |
| spellingShingle | Mattia Fragola Maria Rita Perrone Pietro Alifano Adelfia Talà Salvatore Romano Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean Toxins eukaryotic community structure airborne PM10 samples high-throughput sequencing fungi genus seasonality plant genus seasonality |
| title | Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean |
| title_full | Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean |
| title_short | Seasonal Variability of the Airborne Eukaryotic Community Structure at a Coastal Site of the Central Mediterranean |
| title_sort | seasonal variability of the airborne eukaryotic community structure at a coastal site of the central mediterranean |
| topic | eukaryotic community structure airborne PM10 samples high-throughput sequencing fungi genus seasonality plant genus seasonality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/8/518 |
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