title: Evaluation of the airborne bacterial population in the periodically confined Antarctic base Concordia.
abstract: The environmental airborne bacterial population in relation to human confinement was investigated over a period of 1 year in the Concordia Research Station, which is located on the Eastern Antarctic plateau. The unique location of the station makes it suitable for different research domains such as glaciology, atmospheric sciences, astronomy, etc. Furthermore, it is used as a test bed for long-duration spaceflights to study the physiologic and psychological adaptation to isolated environments. A total of 96 samples were collected at eight different locations in the station at regular intervals. The airborne bacterial contamination was for 90% of the samples lower than 10.0 x 10(2) colony-forming units per cubic meter of air (CFU/m(3)) and the total bacterial contamination increased over time during confinement but diminished after re-opening of the base. Viable airborne bacteria with different morphology were identified by biochemical analyses. The predominant microflora was identified as Staphylococcus sp. (24.9% of total) and Bacillus sp. (11.6% of total) and was associated with human activity, but also environmental species such as Sphingomonas paucimobilis (belonging to the alpha-Proteobacteria) could establish themselves in the airborne population. A few opportunistic pathogens (6%) were also identified.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, 2400, Mol, Belgium. rob.van.houdt@sckcen.be
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Houdt
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Boever
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Coninx
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Calvez
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dicasillati
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahillon
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mergeay
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Leys
mesh_terms: D000391:Air Microbiology; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001407:Bacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044822:Biodiversity; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D020578:Sphingomonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification