Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.1
2.9
Journals
Atmosphere
Special Issues
Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores
share announcement

Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Biometeorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 April 2023) | Viewed by 13382

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Estefanía Sánchez Reyes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, University of Salamanca, Avda. Licenciado Méndez Nieto s/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: airborne pollen; fungal and pteridophyte spores; environmental meteorology; environmental allergies
Dr. Manuel Feliciano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Interests: indoor air quality monitoring; indoor pollutant sources; chemical and microbiological contamination; impacts on human health; sustainable solutions in various settings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. José Sánchez-Sánchez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Salamanca, Avda Licenciado Méndez Nieto s/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: aeropalynolog; melissopalinology; botany; mycology; plant conservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aeropalynology (the study of airborne pollen and fungal/pteridophyte spore content), despite being a relatively new scientific field, is widespread in the scientific literature thanks to the deployment of numerous monitoring stations worldwide. This has allowed the determination of the aerobiological behaviour of these biotic particles, with researchers undertaking comparative studies among zones with different bioclimatic characteristics. Thus, the possible impact of climate change has been studied by analysing the influence that several meteorological parameters might have on their seasonal and daily patterns. It is also important to assess their implications, together with other atmospheric pollutants, on human health, even taking into consideration possible connections with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic among other factors.

However, most of the research has focused on pollen grains due to their direct implications in environmental allergies. Despite this, in recent years, the demand for knowledge in relation to spores has been increasing as the implications of these particles in allergic and bio-deterioration processes have also been verified; they may even be useful in the prevention of fungal pests in crops and as possible bio-indicators of the phenomenon of climate change. Consequently, the aim of this Special Issue is to present a selection of papers on the current state of the field in relation to fungal (and/or Pterydophyte) spores. Therefore, we invite you to consider submitting your research for publication in this Special Issue of the journal, entitled “Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores: Outdoor and Indoor Measurements, Effects of Climate Change and Pollution, Impacts on Health and Bio-Deterioration”.

Relevant current issues include indoor and outdoor spore monitoring considering predictive models based on the influence of meteorological parameters and/or air pollutants; their involvement in bio-deterioration processes and environmental allergies.

Dr. Estefanía Sánchez Reyes
Dr. Manuel Joaquim Sabença Feliciano
Dr. José Sánchez-Sánchez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • airborne spore monitoring
  • air pollution
  • climate change
  • bio-deterioration
  • environmental allergies

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 1183 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of Models for the Forecast of Daily Concentration Thresholds of Airborne Fungal Spores
by Andrés M. Vélez-Pereira, Concepción De Linares, Miquel A. Canela and Jordina Belmonte
Atmosphere 2023, 14(6), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14061016 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1169
Abstract
Aerobiological predictive model development is of increasing interest, despite the distribution and variability of data and the limitations of statistical methods making it highly challenging. The use of concentration thresholds and models, where a binary response allows one to establish the occurrence or [...] Read more.
Aerobiological predictive model development is of increasing interest, despite the distribution and variability of data and the limitations of statistical methods making it highly challenging. The use of concentration thresholds and models, where a binary response allows one to establish the occurrence or non-occurrence of the threshold, have been proposed to reduce difficulties. In this paper, we use logistic regression (logit) and regression trees to predict the daily concentration thresholds (low, medium, high, and very high) of six airborne fungal spore taxa (Alternaria, Cladosporium, Agaricus, Ganoderma, Leptosphaeria, and Pleospora) in eight localities in Catalonia (NE Spain) using data from 1995 to 2014. The predictive potential of these models was analyzed through sensitivity and specificity. The models showed similar results regarding the relationship and influence of the meteorological parameters and fungal spores. Ascospores showed a strong relationship with precipitation and basidiospores with minimum temperature, while conidiospores did not indicate any preferences. Sensitivity (true-positive) and specificity (false-positive) presented highly satisfactory validation results for both models in all thresholds, with an average of 73%. However, seeing as logit offers greater precision when attempting to establish the exceedance of a concentration threshold and is easier to apply, it is proposed as the best predictive model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2871 KiB  
Article
First Long-Time Airborne Fungal Spores Study in Dublin, Ireland (1978–1980)
by Moisés Martínez-Bracero, Emma Markey, Jerry Hourihane Clancy, John Sodeau and David J. O’Connor
Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13020313 - 13 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2304
Abstract
Ambient fungal spores within the atmosphere can contribute to a range of negative human, animal and plant health conditions and diseases. However, trends in fungal spore seasonality, species prevalence, and geographical origin have been significantly understudied in Ireland. Previously unpublished data from the [...] Read more.
Ambient fungal spores within the atmosphere can contribute to a range of negative human, animal and plant health conditions and diseases. However, trends in fungal spore seasonality, species prevalence, and geographical origin have been significantly understudied in Ireland. Previously unpublished data from the late 1970s have recently been collected and analysed to establish historical fungal spore trends/characteristics for Dublin. Historical spore concentrations were largely dominated by Alternaria, Ascospores, Basidiospores, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Erysiphe and Rusts. The main fungal spore season for Dublin commenced in April with the fructification of Scopulariopsis and Ganoderma. However, the vast majority of other spore types did not reach peak spore release until late summer. The correlation between ambient spore concentration, and meteorological parameters was examined using Multivariable Regression Tree (MRT) analysis. The notable correlations found for fungal spore concentrations tended to involve temperature-based parameters. The use of a non-parametric wind regression was also employed to determine the potential geographical origin of ambient fungal spores. The impact of wind direction, and high windspeed on fungal spores was established, ultimately highlighting the importance of studying and monitoring fungal spores within Ireland, rather than attempting to rely on data from other regions, as most fungal spores collected in Dublin appeared to originate from within the island. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2524 KiB  
Article
Blowin’ in the Wind: Wind Dispersal Ability of Phytopathogenic Fusarium in a Wind Tunnel Experiment
by Annika Hoffmann, Roger Funk and Marina E. H. Müller
Atmosphere 2021, 12(12), 1653; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12121653 - 09 Dec 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2518
Abstract
Dispersal processes play an essential role in cereal diseases caused by phytopathogenic Fusarium. However, most empirical studies of Fusarium spore dispersal have focused on vertical transport by rain splash, while wind dispersal has been mostly neglected. Our objective was to determine the [...] Read more.
Dispersal processes play an essential role in cereal diseases caused by phytopathogenic Fusarium. However, most empirical studies of Fusarium spore dispersal have focused on vertical transport by rain splash, while wind dispersal has been mostly neglected. Our objective was to determine the ability of Fusarium conidiospores to disperse via wind under controlled conditions in a wind tunnel study. Ten Fusarium species with diverse spore varieties were studied by placing them in the wind stream at wind velocities of 5 and 8 m s−1 and collecting them after 6 m and a period of 1 h using a newly developed air sampling box. Although spore concentrations were high in the releasing Petri Dishes, the tested isolates were recaptured in only 18 of 78 runs. F. equiseti and F. cerealis were the most frequently recovered species. Changing abiotic conditions, wind speed, and spore shapes had no significant effect on Fusarium spore recapture rates. Another experiment showed that conidiospores were rarely released from the grown mycelium. Therefore, the importance of wind alone as a dispersal medium for Fusarium conidiospores may have been overestimated so far. Further studies should investigate the importance of carrier media or mobile linkers combined with the wind dispersal of spores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

26 pages, 1157 KiB  
Review
Airborne Fungal Spore Review, New Advances and Automatisation
by Moises Martinez-Bracero, Emma Markey, Jerry Hourihane Clancy, Eoin J. McGillicuddy, Gavin Sewell and David J. O’Connor
Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13020308 - 11 Feb 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5546
Abstract
Fungal spores make up a significant portion of Primary Biological Aerosol Particles (PBAPs) with large quantities of such particles noted in the air. Fungal particles are of interest because of their potential to affect the health of both plants and humans. They are [...] Read more.
Fungal spores make up a significant portion of Primary Biological Aerosol Particles (PBAPs) with large quantities of such particles noted in the air. Fungal particles are of interest because of their potential to affect the health of both plants and humans. They are omnipresent in the atmosphere year-round, with concentrations varying due to meteorological parameters and location. Equally, differences between indoor and outdoor fungal spore concentrations and dispersal play an important role in occupational health. This review attempts to summarise the different spore sampling methods, identify the most important spore types in terms of negative effects on crops and the public, the factors affecting their growth/dispersal, and different methods of predicting fungal spore concentrations currently in use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Airborne Fungal and Pteridophyte Spores)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop