Fungi diversity in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub> at the summit of Mt. Tai: abundance, size distribution, and seasonal variation
Fungi are ubiquitous throughout the near-surface atmosphere, where they represent an important component of primary biological aerosol particles. This study combined internal transcribed spacer region sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to investigate the ambie...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/11247/2017/acp-17-11247-2017.pdf |
| Summary: | Fungi are ubiquitous throughout the near-surface atmosphere, where they
represent an important component of primary biological aerosol particles.
This study combined internal transcribed spacer region sequencing and
quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to investigate the
ambient fungi in fine (PM<sub>2. 5</sub>, 50 % cutoff aerodynamic diameter
<i>D</i><sub>a50</sub> = 2.5 µm, geometric standard deviation of
collection efficiency <i>σ</i><sub><i>g</i></sub> = 1.2) and submicron (PM<sub>1</sub>,
<i>D</i><sub>a50</sub> = 1 µm, <i>σ</i><sub><i>g</i></sub> = 1.2) particles at the
summit of Mt. Tai located in the North China Plain, China. Fungal abundance
values were 9.4 × 10<sup>4</sup> and 1.3 × 10<sup>5</sup>
copies m<sup>−3</sup> in PM<sub>2. 5</sub> and PM<sub>1</sub>, respectively. Most of the fungal
sequences were from Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, which are known to actively
discharge spores into the atmosphere. The fungal community showed a
significant seasonal shift across different size fractions according to
Metastats analysis and the Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test. The abundance of
<i>Glomerella</i> and <i>Zasmidium</i> increased in larger particles in
autumn, whereas <i>Penicillium</i>, <i>Bullera</i>, and
<i>Phaeosphaeria</i> increased in smaller particles in winter.
Environmental factors, namely Ca<sup>2+</sup>, humidity, and temperature, were
found to be crucial for the seasonal variation in the fungal community. This
study might serve as an important reference for fungal contribution to
primary biological aerosol particles. |
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| ISSN: | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |