The diversity of airborne bacteria over the Tibet Plateau decreased by Taklimakan dust
In the summer of 2019, we simultaneously collected air samples and analyzed them using high-throughput DNA sequencing techniques. We found that the diversity of airborne microorganisms decreased by 42.2% during dust events. Moreover, the potential pathogens and bacterial ice nuclei (IN) in the Plateau increased by 16.4% and 73.8%, respectively.