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The biological and chemical contents of atmospheric particulate matter and implication of its role in the transmission of bacterial pathogenesis
Author(s) -
Zhang Xianghe,
Li Ziyun,
Hu Jiamin,
Yan Lei,
He Yanyan,
Li Xiang,
Wang Mingyu,
Sun Xiaomin,
Xu Hai
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.15679
Subject(s) - biology , microbial population biology , antimicrobial , human health , pathogenic bacteria , particulates , bacteria , transmission (telecommunications) , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , genetics , environmental health , medicine , electrical engineering , engineering
Summary Atmospheric particulate matter (APM) is an environmental hazard that endangers human health and causes a variety of diseases. In this work, the microbial community composition, chemical element composition and antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) prevalence, along with their relationships with environmental parameters were analysed using APM samples collected in Jinan, China. Pathogenic Klebsiella and Aeromonas were found to be significantly correlated with PM 2.5 and temperature, suggesting their proliferation on APM. PM 2.5 and PM 10 have similar microbial community compositions but different chemical element compositions, suggesting they have different origins, which have little impact on microbial community structures. This finding, together with analysis of the timing of microbial community structure changes, suggests that microbial community composition is impacted by anthropic activities. Further investigations showed that rare metals including lanthanides are significantly negatively correlated with pathogens in APM, suggesting their inhibitory role. ARGs were observed for every class of antibiotic except for carbapenems in APM, suggesting high ARG prevalence in APM, and APM functions in transmission of antimicrobial resistance. Results obtained in this study suggest that APM can act as a transmission vehicle for pathogenic bacteria and ARGs and lead to the implication of a new transmission route for bacterial pathogenesis by APM.