Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.2
4.7
Journals
Microorganisms
Special Issues
Research on Airborne Microbial Communities
share announcement

Research on Airborne Microbial Communities

A Special Issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607) belonging to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 5392

Editor

Dr. Changliang Nie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environment and Geography, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
Interests: bioaerosols; microalgae; environmental health; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Atmospheric microorganisms refer to the microbial communities present in the atmosphere, encompassing bacteria, fungi, viruses, and archaea. These microorganisms are introduced into the atmosphere via diverse pathways, such as soil erosion, ocean spray, and anthropogenic activities. Atmospheric microorganisms play crucial roles in climate regulation, biogeochemical cycling, and public health, thereby influencing various aspects of human well-being. With increasing attention being paid to atmospheric microorganisms and their multifaceted impacts on the atmospheric environment, it is essential that we investigate the interactions between airborne microorganisms and the atmospheric environment. This research can provide critical insights into the complex interplay between atmospheric pollutants and bioaerosols.

As the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I warmly invite you to submit opinion articles, original research articles, review articles, and short communications. These submissions should focus on providing insights into the interactions between atmospheric microorganisms and human health, methodological and technological innovations for exploring these interactions, and recent advancements in atmospheric microbial communities.

Dr. Changliang Nie
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms 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 2700 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

  • atmospheric microorganisms
  • bioaerosol
  • microbial community
  • air pollutant
  • climate change

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

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

21 pages, 1757 KB  
Article
Temporal Dynamics of Airborne Bacterial and Fungal Communities in Megacity Shanghai: Diel Asynchrony, Environmental Drivers, and Cold Front Perturbations
by Jiaxin Wang, Ling Li, Yanyu Wang, Wenwen Sun and Tiantao Cheng
Microorganisms 2026, 14(9), 1975; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14091975 - 7 Sep 2026
Abstract
Atmospheric bacteria and fungi are key components of urban bioaerosols, and their community structures are closely related to urban air quality, bioaerosol concentration, and environmental driving factors. However, the temporal dynamics and environmental drivers of bacterial and fungal community structures remain poorly characterized [...] Read more.
Atmospheric bacteria and fungi are key components of urban bioaerosols, and their community structures are closely related to urban air quality, bioaerosol concentration, and environmental driving factors. However, the temporal dynamics and environmental drivers of bacterial and fungal community structures remain poorly characterized in megacities such as Shanghai, China. From November 2024 to November 2025, we conducted a year-long, cross-seasonal bioaerosol sampling and high-throughput DNA sequencing campaign to investigate the seasonal and diel variations, environmental covariation, and meteorological responses of atmospheric bacteria and fungi in Shanghai. The results show that seasonal transitions cannot significantly alter the α-diversity of bacterial or fungal communities, but significantly shift their community compositions, exhibiting a stronger differentiation for fungi than bacteria (PERMANOVA R2 = 0.133 vs. 0.054, p = 0.001). At the diel scale, bacterial communities exhibit weak diurnal variation, whereas fungal communities display significantly higher nocturnal Chao1 richness and Shannon diversity, along with distinct compositional separation. Cladosporium and Alternaria are enriched during the day, while saprotrophic basidiomycetes such as Irpex and Trametes are more abundant at night. Fungal composition covaries most strongly with meteorological gradients governed by boundary layer height, clear-sky surface downward solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and visibility, whereas bacterial–environment associations are weaker. The Relative Exposure-Relevant Proportion (RERP), dominated by Cladosporium and Alternaria, is higher during daytime and negatively associated with relative humidity (β = −0.23, q = 0.001). During a strong cold-air event, bacterial communities shifted rapidly following immediate air mass replacement and high wind shear before stabilizing, whereas fungal communities underwent a more gradual and cumulative turnover. The RERP also elevated during this event, accompanied by a greater contribution from Talaromyces. These findings reveal contrasting dynamics between airborne bacteria and fungi under both background and transient synoptic disturbances, providing crucial observational insights for bioaerosol modeling and risk prediction in urban environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Airborne Microbial Communities)
15 pages, 8008 KB  
Article
The Unique Roles of Microbial Abundant and Rare Taxa in Regulating Pathogen Dynamics in Wastewater Bioaerosols
by Zhiruo Zhang, Ying Zhang, Qiyu Zhu, Baiheng Qian, Fanyu Ge and Yang Huo
Microorganisms 2026, 14(1), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14010100 - 2 Jan 2026
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1260
Abstract
Bioaerosols emitted from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are key vectors for airborne microbial transmission, yet the mechanisms by which abundant and rare microbial taxa regulate pathogen dynamics remain unclear. This study explored the ecological roles of abundant and rare taxa through a comprehensive [...] Read more.
Bioaerosols emitted from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are key vectors for airborne microbial transmission, yet the mechanisms by which abundant and rare microbial taxa regulate pathogen dynamics remain unclear. This study explored the ecological roles of abundant and rare taxa through a comprehensive analysis of bioaerosols from two full-scale WWTPs, integrating high-throughput sequencing of bacterial and fungal communities. Results showed that the rare taxa exhibited higher alpha diversity, and their community construction was dominated by deterministic processes. While the abundant taxa showed higher spatial homogeneity, and their distribution was more consistent with the neutral model, suggesting the dominance of stochastic processes. Network analysis revealed that rare taxa held keystone topological roles within the microbial networks. Moreover, partial least squares path model quantified their direct effects on pathogen abundance, revealing a strong positive direct effect of abundant bacterial taxa but a significant negative direct effect of rare bacterial taxa. This study elucidates the dual roles of taxa with different abundance levels in community assembly and pathogen regulation, emphasizing that effective risk assessment and management strategies should account not only for the carrier role of abundant taxa but also for the regulatory function of the rare biosphere in shaping pathogen dynamics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Airborne Microbial Communities)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

34 pages, 6479 KB  
Review
Biofiltration of Bioaerosols Emitted from Organic Waste Management Facilities: A Review
by Andrés M. Vélez-Pereira, Pablo Bravo Barra, Yiniva Camargo Caicedo and David J. O’Connor
Microorganisms 2026, 14(5), 963; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14050963 - 24 Apr 2026
Viewed by 1035
Abstract
Bioaerosol emissions from biological treatment processes like composting, livestock operations, and wastewater plants pose notable occupational and environmental health risks. Biofiltration is a common mitigation measure for gaseous pollutants, but its effectiveness in controlling bioaerosols is less studied. This review synthesizes current evidence [...] Read more.
Bioaerosol emissions from biological treatment processes like composting, livestock operations, and wastewater plants pose notable occupational and environmental health risks. Biofiltration is a common mitigation measure for gaseous pollutants, but its effectiveness in controlling bioaerosols is less studied. This review synthesizes current evidence on biofiltration for the removal of bioaerosols. Findings indicate that biofiltration can significantly reduce emissions from waste-related biological processes, although results vary widely and depend heavily on design and operational factors. In composting, agricultural, and wastewater treatment contexts, fungal bioaerosols are consistently removed with high efficiency, often over 90%. Conversely, bacterial removal shows greater variability, from negligible to above 90%, influenced primarily by airflow rate, bed depth, and media stability. Systems with residence times of tens of seconds and bed depths of at least 1 m tend to reliably reduce bacterial counts, whereas undersized, high-flow systems experience marked efficiency losses. The choice of packing material is also crucial; mature, stable media maintain performance, whereas nutrient-rich or unstable substrates can lead to fungal emissions, turning the biofilter into a secondary source. Data on endotoxin removal are limited and remain insufficient for firm design recommendations. Overall, biofiltration’s effectiveness depends on complex interactions among physical retention, biological stability, and design. These insights emphasize the need for future research to focus on standardized, performance-based design criteria supported by consistent reporting and full-scale validation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Airborne Microbial Communities)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 1593 KB  
Review
Airborne Algae and Cyanobacteria Originating from Lakes: Formation Mechanisms, Influencing Factors, and Potential Health Risks
by Xiaoming Liu, Tingfu Li, Yuqi Qiu, Changliang Nie, Xiaoling Nie and Xueyun Geng
Microorganisms 2025, 13(7), 1702; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13071702 - 20 Jul 2025
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2503
Abstract
Algal and cyanobacterial blooms are anticipated to increase in frequency, duration, and geographic extent as a result of environmental changes, including climate warming, elevated nutrient concentrations, and increased runoff in both marine and freshwater ecosystems. The eutrophication of aquatic environments represents a substantial [...] Read more.
Algal and cyanobacterial blooms are anticipated to increase in frequency, duration, and geographic extent as a result of environmental changes, including climate warming, elevated nutrient concentrations, and increased runoff in both marine and freshwater ecosystems. The eutrophication of aquatic environments represents a substantial threat to human health. As eutrophication progresses, airborne algae and cyanobacteria, particularly harmful genera originating from aquatic environments, are released into the atmosphere and may pose potential risks to human health. Furthermore, respiratory distress has been documented in individuals exposed to aerosols containing harmful algal bloom (HAB) toxins. This review investigates the generation of aerosolised harmful algal blooms, their responses to environmental factors, and their associated health risks. Evidence suggests that airborne algae, cyanobacteria, and their toxins are widespread. When these are aerosolised into micrometre-sized particles, they become susceptible to atmospheric processing, which may degrade the HAB toxins and produce byproducts with differing potencies compared to the parent compounds. Inhalation of aerosolised HAB toxins, especially when combined with co-morbid factors such as exposure to air pollutants, could present a significant health risk to a considerable proportion of the global population. A more comprehensive understanding of the chemical transformations of these toxins and the composition of harmful algal and cyanobacterial communities can improve public safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Airborne Microbial Communities)
►▼ 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