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Bacillus-Dominant Airborne Bacterial Communities Identified During Asian Dust Events

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

Asian dust (AD) events have received significant attention due to their adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. However, detailed information about airborne pathogens associated with AD events is limited. This study monitored airborne bacterial communities and identified AD-specific bacteria and the potential hazards associated with these bacteria during AD events. Over a 33-month period, 40 air samples were collected under normal atmospheric conditions (non-AD events; n = 34) and during AD events (n = 6). The airborne bacterial communities in the air samples collected during non-AD events (non-AD sample) and AD events (AD sample) were evaluated using both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. The bacterial diversity increased significantly, along with the 16S rRNA gene copy number, in AD samples (p < 0.05) and was positively correlated with PM10 concentration. High throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the relative abundance of the phylum Firmicutes increased substantially in AD samples (44.3 ± 5.0%) compared with non-AD samples (27.8 ± 4.3%). Within the phylum Firmicutes, AD samples included a greater abundance of Bacillus species (almost 23.8%) than non-AD samples (almost 13.3%). Both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods detected common predominant species closely related to Bacillus cereus during AD events. Subsequent multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and enterotoxin gene assays confirmed the presence of virulence factors in B. cereus isolates from AD samples. Furthermore, the abundance of bceT, encoding enterotoxin in B. cereus, was significantly higher in AD samples (p < 0.05). The systematic characterization of airborne bacterial communities in AD samples in this study suggests that B. cereus pose risks to public health.

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Funding

This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2018R1A6A1A08025348).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Yonsei-ro 50, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea

    Keunje Yoo, Hyunji Yoo, Muhammad Imran Khan & Joonhong Park

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Il Han

  3. Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea

    Kwan Soo Ko

  4. Department of Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, South Korea

    Tae Kwon Lee

  5. Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan

    Muhammad Imran Khan

  6. Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    James M. Tiedje

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  1. Keunje Yoo
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Yoo, K., Han, I., Ko, K.S. et al. Bacillus-Dominant Airborne Bacterial Communities Identified During Asian Dust Events. Microb Ecol 78, 677–687 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-019-01348-0

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