title: High diversity of fungi in air particulate matter.
abstract: Fungal spores can account for large proportions of air particulate matter, and they may potentially influence the hydrological cycle and climate as nuclei for water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, fog, and precipitation. Moreover, some fungi are major pathogens and allergens. The diversity of airborne fungi is, however, not well-known. By DNA analysis we found pronounced differences in the relative abundance and seasonal cycles of various groups of fungi in coarse and fine particulate matter, with more plant pathogens in the coarse fraction and more human pathogens and allergens in the respirable fine particle fraction (<3 microm). Moreover, the ratio of Basidiomycota to Ascomycota was found to be much higher than previously assumed, which might also apply to the biosphere.
authors.affiliation: Biogeochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 27, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fröhlich-Nowoisky
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Pickersgill
authors.forename: Viviane R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Després
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pöschl
mesh_terms: D000391:Air Microbiology; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001483:Base Sequence; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000737:chemistry; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D052638:Particulate Matter; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D052638:Particulate Matter