Sajjad Bilal, Rasool Kashif, Siddique Azhar, Jabbar Khadeeja Abdul, El-Malaha Shimaa S, Sohail Muhammad Umar, Almomani Fares, Alfarra M Rami
Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar; Department of Chemical Engineering, Qatar University, Qatar.
Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, P. O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar.
Environ Pollut. 2023 Nov 1;336:122401. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122401. Epub 2023 Aug 18.
This study investigates the size distribution, microbial composition, and antibiotic resistance (ABR) of airborne bioaerosols at a suburban location in Doha, Qatar between October 2021 and January 2022. Samples were collected using an Andersen six-stage viable cascade impactor and a liquid impinger. Findings showed that the mean bacteria concentration (464 CFU/m) was significantly higher than that of fungi (242 CFU/m) during the study period. Both bacteria and fungi were most abundant in the aerodynamic size fractions of 1.10-2.21 μm, with peak concentrations observed in the mornings and lowest concentrations in the afternoons across all size fractions. A total of 24 different culturable species were identified, with the most abundant ones being Pasteurella pneumotropica (9.71%), Pantoea spp. 1 (8.73%), and Proteus penneri (7.77%) spp. At the phylum level, the bacterial community configurations during the autumn and winter seasons were nearly identical as revealed by molecular genomics, with Proteobacteria being the most predominant, followed by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteriota, and Planctomycetota. However, there was a significant variation in dominant genera between autumn and winter. The most abundant genera included Sphingomonas, Paraburkholderia, Comamonas, Bacillus, and Lysinibacillus. Several bacterial genera identified in this study have important public health and ecological implications, including the risk of respiratory tract infections. Furthermore, the study found that ABR was highest in December, with bioaerosols exhibiting resistance to at least 5 out of 10 antibiotics, and 100% resistance to Metronidazole in all samples. Metagenomics analysis revealed the presence of various airborne bacteria that were not detected through culture-dependent methods. This study provides valuable insights into the airborne microbial composition, temporal variability and ABR in the Arabian Gulf region.
本研究调查了2021年10月至2022年1月期间卡塔尔多哈郊区空气中生物气溶胶的粒径分布、微生物组成和抗生素耐药性（ABR）。使用安德森六级活菌级联撞击器和液体冲击器收集样本。研究结果表明，在研究期间，细菌平均浓度（464 CFU/m）显著高于真菌（242 CFU/m）。细菌和真菌在空气动力学粒径为1.10 - 2.21μm的部分中最为丰富，在所有粒径部分中，早晨观测到的浓度峰值最高，下午浓度最低。共鉴定出24种不同的可培养物种，其中最丰富的是嗜肺巴斯德氏菌（9.71%）、泛菌属1（8.73%）和彭氏变形杆菌（7.77%）。在门水平上，分子基因组学显示秋冬季节细菌群落结构几乎相同，变形菌门最为主要，其次是厚壁菌门、拟杆菌门、酸杆菌门和浮霉菌门。然而，秋冬季节优势属存在显著差异。最丰富的属包括鞘氨醇单胞菌属、副伯克霍尔德菌属、丛毛单胞菌属、芽孢杆菌属和赖氨酸芽孢杆菌属。本研究中鉴定出的几个细菌属具有重要的公共卫生和生态意义，包括呼吸道感染风险。此外，研究发现12月抗生素耐药性最高，生物气溶胶对10种抗生素中的至少5种表现出耐药性，所有样本对甲硝唑的耐药率为100%。宏基因组学分析揭示了通过依赖培养的方法未检测到的各种空气传播细菌的存在。本研究为阿拉伯湾地区空气中微生物组成、时间变异性和抗生素耐药性提供了有价值的见解。
