Characterizing atmospheric biological aerosols at a suburban site in Guangzhou, southern China by airborne microbes, proteins and saccharides

Xiaoluan Lin; Chenglei Pei; Ting Liu; Qiuzi Shu; Dachi Hong; Zhuoer Huang; Yingyi Zhang; Senchao Lai

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163543

Characterizing atmospheric biological aerosols at a suburban site in Guangzhou, southern China by airborne microbes, proteins and saccharides

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jul 20:883:163543. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163543. Epub 2023 Apr 22.

Authors

Xiaoluan Lin¹, Chenglei Pei², Ting Liu³, Qiuzi Shu¹, Dachi Hong², Zhuoer Huang², Yingyi Zhang⁴, Senchao Lai¹

Affiliations

¹ The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
² Guangzhou Sub-branch of Guangdong Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
³ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei Polytechnic University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, Huangshi, 435003, China.
⁴ The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China. Electronic address: zhyy@scut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37094674
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163543

Abstract

Bioaerosols in ambient environment can be evaluated using various techniques. However, the results of bioaerosols obtained using different methods are rarely compared. The relationships between different bioaerosol indicators and their behaviors under the influence of environment factors are seldom investigated. Here we used airborne microbial numbers, proteins and saccharides concentrations as the indicators to characterize bioaerosols in two seasons with different source contribution, air pollution situation and meteorological conditions. The observation was conducted at a suburban site in Guangzhou, southern China, during the winter and spring periods of 2021. Airborne microbes were observed with an average of (1.82 ± 1.33) × 10⁶ cells/m³, converted to the mass concentration level of 0.42 ± 0.30 μg/m³, comparable but lower than that of proteins (0.81 ± 0.48 μg/m³). Both of them were much higher than the average concentration of saccharides (19.93 ± 11.53 ng/m³). During the winter period, significant and good correlations were observed between the three components. In spring, a biological outbreak was observed in late March with a strong elevation of airborne microbes followed by elevations of proteins and saccharides. The retardation of proteins and saccharides could be the result of the enhanced release from microorganisms under the influence of atmospheric oxidation processes. Saccharides in PM_2.5 were studied to reveal the contribution of specific sources of bioaerosols (e.g. fungi, pollen, plants and soil). Our results show that primary emissions and secondary processes should play their roles in the variations of these biological components. By comparing the results of the three methods, this study provides an insight into the applicability and variability of bioaerosol characterization in the ambient environment with respect to various influences of sources, atmospheric processes and environmental conditions.

Keywords: Airborne microbes; Atmospheric environmental impact factors; Proteins; Saccharides.

MeSH terms

Aerosols / analysis
Air Microbiology
Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / analysis
Carbohydrates
China
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Particulate Matter / analysis
Seasons

Substances

Particulate Matter
Aerosols
Carbohydrates
Air Pollutants