摘要
Sandstorm,which injects generous newly emerging microbes into the atmosphere covering cities,adversely affects the air quality in built environments.However,few studies have examined the change of airborne bacteria during severe sandstorm events.In this work,we analyzed the airborne bacteria during one of the strongest sandstorms in East Asia onMarch 15th,2021,which affected large areas of China and Mongolia.The characteristics of the sandstorm were compared with those of the subsequent clean and haze days.The composition of the bacterial community of air samples was investigated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)and high-throughput sequencing technology.During the sandstorm,the particulate matter(PM)concentration and bacterial richnesswere extremely high(PM2.5:207μg/m3;PM10:1630μg/m3;5700 amplicon sequence variants/m3).In addition,the sandstorm brought 10 pathogenic bacterial genera to the atmosphere,posing a grave hazard to human health.As the sandstorm subsided,small bioaerosols(0.65–1.1μm)with a similar bacterial community remained suspended in the atmosphere,bringing possible long-lasting health risks.
基金
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52078269).
