Neglected Research Fields in Aerobiology.pptx

The study of biological particles in the air is known as aerobiology. Most of the Aerobiologists mainly deals with airborne fungi, pollen, bacteria etc. Some neglected fields of aerobiology are focused here.

1. NEGLECTED FIELDS OF AEROBIOLOGY IN INDIA Subrata Raha Prof. and HoD Department of Botany Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, W.B. [email protected]

2. Ocean / Marine aerobiology Ocean aerobiology is defined as the study of biological particles of marine origin, including living organisms, present in the atmosphere and their role in ecological and climate processes. Hundreds of trillions of microorganisms are exchanged between ocean and atmosphere daily. Within few days, tropospheric transport potentially disperses microorganisms over continents and oceans. There is a need to better identify and quantify marine aerobiota. To determine the time spans and distances of atmospheric transport by marine microorganisms. To evaluate whether microorganisms acclimatize to atmospheric conditions and remain viable, or even grow. Exploring the atmosphere as a microbial habitat is fundamental and it will expand our knowledge of biodiversity, biogeography, and ecosystem connectivity across different marine environments. In addition, organic matter in sea spray aerosol plays a significant role in the Earth’s radiative budget by scattering solar radiation, and indirectly by affecting cloud properties. Marine organic matter is a significant source of ice nucleating particles (INPs), affecting the formation of ice clouds.

3. Emiliania huxleyi virus Alphaproteobacteria Prochlorococcus marinus Synechococcus elongates  Micromonas pusilla Thalassiosira sp. Dinophysis acuminata. SOME AIRBORNE MICROBIOTA OVER MARINE SURFACE

4. Physical processes associated with the generation of sea spray aerosol . C loud condensation nuclei (CCN), ice nucleating particles (INPs.) Marine microorganisms are exposed to stressors in the atmosphere that potentially reduce viability. Ocean aerobiology is an interdisciplinary framework that integrates aerobiological studies with oceanography, geochemistry, atmospheric sciences, climate science, and biogeography to understand the significance of marine organic matter in the atmosphere both today and in response to future climate change.

5. Aerobiology: in the Transmission of Infectious Diseases Exposure to airborne pathogens is commonly shared by all human life. With the improvement of research methods for studying airborne pathogens has come evidence indicating that microorganisms (e.g., viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores) from an infectious source may disperse over very great distances by air currents and ultimately be inhaled, ingested, or come into contact with individuals who have had no contact with the infectious source. Airborne pathogens present a unique challenge in infectious disease and infection control, for a small percentage of infectious individuals appear to be responsible for disseminating the majority of infectious particles. ACTIVITY PARTICLE COUNT UNITS Sneezing 40000 Per sneeze Bowel evacuation 20000 Per event Vomiting 1000 Per event Coughing 710 Per cough Talking 36 Per 100 words

6. Pathogens transmitted via droplet means Pathogens transmitted via airborne means Bordetella pertussis Mycobacterium tuberculosis Influenza viruses Rubeola virus Adenoviruses Varicella zoster Virus Rhinoviruses Variola viruses SARS-associated coronavirus Rhinoviruses Streptococcus pyogenes Rotavirus Staphylococcus aureus Aspergillus sp.

7. Crucial elements of aerobiology and physics thus important for health care system. High efficiency, affordable air filtration systems to be developed to protect the victims . It is important to study how aerobiological variables like particle size, shape, the duration that particles can remain airborne, the distance that viable particles can travel, meteorological factors play a role in the spread of these infectious diseases. .

8. Domestic mite–induced allergy Domestic mites include all indoor mites that belong to the subphylum Chelicerata, class Arachnida, subclass Acari, superorder Acariformes, and order Astigmata. House dust mites, belonging to the superfamily Analgoidea, family Pyroglyphidae, are present in human dwellings worldwide. Especially Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus , Dermatophagoides farinae , and Euroglyphus maynei are the most common causes of human allergy.

9. Domestic mite induced allergy Domestic mites are diverse, omnipresent arthropods that cause allergy in more than 10% of the general population, and 90% of individuals suffering from allergic asthma are sensitive to domestic mites. Mite allergens belong to the group of inhalant allergens and represent antigenic substances that are particularly important in the pathogenesis of respiratory system diseases and skin diseases. The most common diseases associated with chronic exposure to these aeroallergens include allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Bodies, feces, eggs, and corpse residues of mites can cause severe allergic reactions. Thus, when mites multiply in large numbers in the human living environment, they easily make contact with human skin and enter the respiratory tract, causing allergic reactions.

10. B etter understanding is required W hy the breeding rate of dust mites varied at dissimilar settings T he relationship between dust mite allergens and house characteristics and meteorological parameters Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) may be better than allergen avoidance and pharmacotherapy treatments , however, ASIT with mite extracts, which contain a mixture of allergens, non-allergens, and other proteins, are difficult to standardize and can cause severe side effects like anaphylaxis. Thus improved techniques for purification of allergen is required. Ecofriendly, herbal formulation to be developed for inhibiting mite population lives in indoor environment. Efficacy of Essential oil.

11. Aerobiology and P lant disease forecasting Early-warning systems for plant diseases are valuable when the systems provide timely forecasts that farmers can use to inform their pest management decisions. Philip Herries Gregory

12. The website provides information that might be used to forecast an impending Soybean Rust threat, and farmers may use the information in choosing a management strategy ( www.sbrusa.net ) Two SBR websites are maintained: One is public, and one is not. The nonpublic website is designed to integrate information from the large network of disease-management professionals who gather data and analyze it. The layouts of these screens include a calendar of archived products, a map display, Geographic Information System (GIS) tools for navigating the maps and support materials. The simulation maps, include daily spore transport, daily wet deposition of spores over land, accumulated wet deposition of spores over land, and other forecast model variables.

13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-021-00694-z The data included temperature, precipitation, RH, dew point, solar radiation and wind speed. Other variables used were: sites, crop growth, epidemic onset, infection rate, age effect, temperature effect, wetness effect and aggregation.

14. AEROBIOLOGY OF PTERIDOPHYTES Pteridophyte airborne spores are scarcely represented worldwide compared to fungal spores or even to pollen grains. F ew papers that reported data about aerobiology of ferns 42 belonged to researches carried out in tropical and subtropical zones of Asia. In that sense, we must point out the work of Yasmeen and Devi ( 1988 ) that informed about the airborne presence of 28 types of fern spores. There were only two studies dealing about atmospheric fern spores content in Africa reporting 16 Pteridophyte spores and three papers from America especially in Buenos Aires and surroundings.

15. Fig. 2 Fern spores identified in the air of Bratislava during the 2019–2021 period under a light microscope; a, b – Asplenium sp., c, d – Athyrium sp., e – Botrychium sp., f – Cystopteris sp., g, h – Dryopteris sp., i – Equisetum sp., j, k – Matteuccia struthiopteris , l – Polypodium sp.

16. Aerobiologists study the organisms and particles of biological origin – known together as bioaerosols – that float around in our planet’s atmosphere. Some try to understand how bioaerosols get into the atmosphere in the first place – for instance, by thunderstorms, volcanic activity, fire or dust storms – as well as how bioaerosols are lofted by prevailing wind currents. Others study the impacts bioaerosols can have, like influencing air and cloud chemistry.  ASTRO-AEROBIOLOGY - A NEW DISCIPLINE

17. S cientists in the Aerobiology Lab study the microbes that live in Earth’s upper atmosphere and what happens when we send bacteria from the ground up that high. At those altitudes, they experience temperatures, air pressure, dryness and radiation conditions similar to those found on the surface of Mars. This can help astrobiologists – the scientists who study the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.  Balloon Missions Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere 1 (E-MIST 1) The Aircraft Bioaerosol Collector (ABC) system NASA C-20A aircraft Several viable bacterial isolates were recovered from flight altitudes, including  Bacillus  sp.,  Micrococcus  sp.,  Arthrobacter  sp., and  Staphylococcus  sp. from Cruise samples and  Brachybacterium  sp. from Ascent/Descent sample. A Balloon experiment jointly by ISRO, TIFR, CCMB and NCCS discovered two new bacteria from Stratosphere - B . isronensis and B . aryabhattai . Ref: https://www.nasa.gov/scientificballoons

18. Cultural heritage monuments may be discolored and degraded by growth and activity of living organisms.  Microorganisms form biofilms on surfaces of stone, with resulting aesthetic and structural damage . The organisms involved are bacteria fungi, archaea, algae, and lichens. Aerobiology and Cultural heritage

19. Some fungal species showed restricted occurrence to a specific archaeological site of Taxila. The comparative study of aerial and surface mycoflora revealed that dominant aerial fungal species were involved in biodeterioration of monuments. The chemical composition of fungal patinas and biofilm was also carried out, and it was found that calcite, gypsum and calcium oxalate were the main minerals detected by X-ray diffraction technique. The dominant fungal species were also determined for their ability to produce organic acids in broth medium. The fungal species produce a significant amount of citric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, fumaric acid and gluconic acid. The different surface alterations of archaeological monuments of Taxila are due to the metabolic activities of fungal species growing on it .

20. Ayurveda & Homeopathy for allergic rhinitis In treatment of Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), the use of complementary therapies is increasing, but little has been published about homeopathic complex remedies so far. Course of single symptoms, impairment of quality of life, general efficacy, and tolerability of a homeopathic remedy containing active substances on a low dilution level have been assessed and analyzed by Trompetter et al., (2015) among 123 patients with a history of allergic rhinitis of up to 45 years for about 4 weeks. The majority of symptoms were shown to improve substantially and the patients' quality of life increased clearly. pilot study was carried by Ghosh et al., (2013) on 34 participants suffering from chronic AR. After one year of homeopathic treatment, lowering of serum IgE level, absolute eosinophil count of blood and AR symptoms score (and increase in WHOQOL-BREF scores of AR were statistically highly significant. No adverse effects and/or complications were observed. Most commonly used constitutional and acute remedies were Natrum muriaticum and Histamine hydrochloride respectively in different centesimal potencies. Ghosh, S., Das, S., Mundle , M., Sengupta, D., Hossain, S. I., Koley , M. and Saha , S. (2013). An open label pilot study testing the role of classical homeopathy in chronic allergic rhinitis. IJPSR, 4(4), 1475-1484 Trompetter I, Lebert J, Weiß G: Homeopathic Complex Remedy in the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis: Results of a Prospective, Multicenter Observational Study. Forsch Komplementmed 2015;22:18-23.