NOVOSIBIRSK, March 16 Scientists from the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICBFM SB RAS) have implemented the first unique project in Russia to study the biodiversity of microorganisms in the air over Novosibirsk , according to the press service of the institute.
Scientists explain that monitoring of man-made air pollution in Russian cities is carried out to varying degrees. However, a biological component is constantly present in the atmosphere, namely, microparticles of plant and animal origin, as well as all kinds of living microorganisms, primarily bacteria and fungi. The question of how they affect humans and the environment as a whole is still open. The project of Siberian scientists became the first systematic research in this direction.
«The pilot project to study the biodiversity of airborne microorganisms is unique for Russia. Air is a rather difficult object to study, since the concentration of particles and microorganisms in it is extremely low, which requires a filtration stage. Scientists conduct day and night air sampling in various districts of Novosibirsk twice a month for the third year in a row. Filtered air samples undergo a comprehensive analysis,» the report says.
Three research institutes are involved in the project. The Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences investigates the chemical composition of air using chromato-mass-spectrometric analysis. The State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology «Vector» of Rospotrebnadzor is engaged in the assessment of cultivated bacteria, and the ICBFM SB RAS, using metagenomic approaches, solves the main task of the project to assess the diversity of bacteria and fungi in the air.
«Preliminary results of the project allowed us to describe for the first time the diversity of microorganisms in the atmosphere of Novosibirsk, as well as to identify the cyclicity in their occurrence depending on the time of year,» said Marcel Kabilov, head of the project, head of the Genomics Center for Collective Use of the ICBFM SB RAS.
Thus, at the first stage of research, scientists were able to establish that more than 65% of the total number of bacteria found in the atmosphere are represented by four types: proteobacteria, actinobacteria, firmicutes and cyanobacteria. Moreover, the first two types prevail in the autumn-winter period, and the other two — in spring and summer. At the same time, more than 90% of all fungi found in the air are ascomycotes and basidiomycotes, the occurrence of which is anticorrelated, that is, the maximum of one accounts for the minimum of the other. At the same time, basidiomycotes prevail only in autumn, and ascomicotes — in other seasons. Research is ongoing.