Airborne bacteria transported with Sahara dust particles from Northern Africa to the European Alps

Abstract:

The Sahara Desert is the most important source of aerosols transported across the Mediterranean towards Europe. Airborne microorganisms associated with aerosols may be transported over long distances and act as colonizers of distant habitats. However, little is known on the composition and viability of such microorganisms, due to difficulties related to their detection, collection and isolation. Here we describe an in-depth assessment of the bacterial communities associated with Sahara dust (SD) particles deposited on snow.

Two distinct SD events reaching the European Alps in February and May 2014 were preserved as distinct ochre-coloured layers within the snowpack. In June 2014, we collected samples from a snow profile at 3621 m a.s.l. close to the Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps). SD particles were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Backward trajectories were calculated using the NOAA HYSPLIT model. Bacterial communities were charac-terized by MiSeq Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Microbial physiological profiles were assessed by incubation of samples on BIOLOG plates.

The SD-layers were generally enriched in illite and kaolinite particles as compared to the adjacent snow layers. The source of SD could be traced back to Algeria. We observed distinct bacterial community structures in the SD-layers as compared to the clean snow layers. While sporulating bacteria were not enriched in the SD-layers, low abundant (<1%) phyla such as Gemmatimonadetes and Deinococcus-Thermus appeared to be specific bioindicators for SD. Both phyla are adapted to arid oligotrophic environments and UV radiation and thus are well suited to survive the harsh conditions of long-distance airborne transport. Our results show that bacteria are viable and metabolically active after the trek to the European Alps.