Atmospheres & Climate

Dust storm-driven Dispersal of Potential Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes In The Eastern Mediterranean

By Keith Cowing

Status Report

biorxiv.org

July 13, 2024

Filed under aminoglycosides, Aspergillus fumigatus, atmosphere, Bacteria, beta-lactams, biorxiv.org, Climate change, dust storm, Earth, ecosystem, fluoroquinolones, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mediterranean Sea, microbiome, panspermia, planetary protection, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, virus

Dust storm-driven Dispersal of Potential Pathogens and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes In The Eastern Mediterranean — Host microorganism carrying antimicrobial resistance and virulence-related genes in air samples under varying atmospheric conditions. The RPKM values of contigs associated with both taxonomy and antimicrobial resistance (A) and virulence-related traits (B) are annotated by numbers outside the circle. The sample name is displayed at the center of each chord diagram. For visual clarity, only three air samples representing clear (t13), dusty (t29), and high-temperature clear (t50) days are included. Inside the diagrams, colored sectors depict the top 20 species, top 10 antimicrobial resistance, and top 5 virulence-related traits with the highest RPKM values. The sum of the other taxa and functional features is depicted with a gray color code. The top 20 taxa are colored according to class and species level. Class level color codes (top section) are shown in the legend, while species level coloring (bottom section) represents dust-indicator taxa with a black color and the rest are colored randomly for each sample. The total log10(RPKM) values are presented as bar plots at the bottom of each chord diagram. — biorxiv.org

The atmosphere hosts a microbiome that connects remote ecosystems but remains underexplored. In this study, we employed metagenomics to examine the ecological roles of the atmospheric microbiome, including the dispersal of potential pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, and its response to temperature fluctuations and dust storms intensified by climate change.

We analyzed air samples from non-dusty conditions and Middle Eastern dust storms, identifying several facultative pathogens like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Aspergillus fumigatus, linked to human respiratory diseases, and others like Zymoseptoria tritici, Fusarium poae, and Puccinia striiformis, harmful to wheat, associated with dust storms and rising temperatures.

We observed increased functions related to antibiotic resistance, including beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, and fluoroquinolones, and virulence factors during dust storms. Our findings suggest that dust storms may spread these traits.

Continuous monitoring is crucial to understand the broader implications of dust storms and temperature increases on the atmospheric microbiome amid climate change, emphasizing the need for a One Health approach to global climate challenges.

Dust storm-driven dispersal of potential pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes in the Eastern Mediterranean, biorxiv.org

Astrobiology, Microbiology,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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