Air viromes
Metagenomic characterization of airborne viral diversity in the near-surface atmosphere
Airborne viruses are expected to be ubiquitous in the near-surface atmosphere and could be prominent environmental risk factors in pathogenesis, but very little is known. This study investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of airborne viruses and their genotypic characteristics of air samples from the three land-use types. Viral abundance ranged from 106 to 107 viruses m–3, which peaked during the winter, but no significant spatial differences were observed. Temporal variations in viral abundance were inversely correlated with seasonal changes in temperature and absolute humidity. A high diversity of airborne viruses were newly discovered and the dominance of plant-associated single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) geminivirus-related viruses, with low numbers of circoviruses, nanoviruses and microphages. The majority of the geminivirus-related viruses were characterized DNA mycoviruses infecting plant pathogenic fungus. This research is the first to report the seasonality of airborne viruses and their genetic diversity in temperate regions.