Metagenomic investigation of African dust events in the Caribbean

Waters, Samantha Marie; Purdue, S. K.; Armstrong, R.; Detrés, Y.

doi:10.1093/femsle/fnaa051

Metagenomic investigation of African dust events in the Caribbean

Journal Article · Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · FEMS Microbiology Letters (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnaa051· OSTI ID:1616634

Waters, Samantha Marie ^[1]; Purdue, S. K. ^[2]; Armstrong, R. ^[3]; Detrés, Y. ^[3]

Universities Space Research Association, Space Biosciences Division, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Atmospheric Science, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA
NOAA Center for Atmospheric Sciences (NCAS), Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 00682, USA

ABSTRACT

African dust from the Sahara and Sahel regions of Northern Africa is blown intercontinental distances and is the highest portion of atmospheric dust generated each year. During the Northern Hemisphere summer months (boreal summer), these dust events travel into the Caribbean and southern United States. While viability assays, microscopy and bacterial amplicon analyses have shown that dust-associated microbes may be diverse, the specific microbial taxa that are transported intercontinental distances with these dust events remain poorly characterized. To provide new insights into these issues, five metagenomes of Saharan dust events occurring in the Caribbean, collected in the summer months of 2002 and 2008, were analyzed. The data revealed that similar microbial composition existed between three out of the five of the distinct dust events and that fungi were a prominent feature of the metagenomes compared to other environmental samples. These results have implications for better understanding of microbial transport through the atmosphere and may implicate that the dust-associated microbial load transiting the Atlantic with Saharan dust is similar from year to year.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1616634

Journal Information:: FEMS Microbiology Letters (Online), Journal Name: FEMS Microbiology Letters (Online) Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 367; ISSN 1574-6968

Publisher:: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Netherlands

Language:: English

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