The most abundant biological particles present in the air are bacteria, fungal propagules and pollen grains. Many of them are proved allergens or even responsible for airborne infectious diseases, which supports the increase of studies in recent years on their composition, diversity, and factors involved in their variability. However, most studies in urban areas are conducted close to ground level and a factor such as height is rarely taken into account. Thus, the information about how the composition of biological particles changes with this variable is scarce. Here, we examined the differential distribution of bacteria, fungi, and plants at four altitudes (up to ∼ 250 m) in a metropolitan area using high-throughput DNA sequencing. Most taxa were present at all levels (common taxa). However, a transitional layer between 80 and 150 m seemed to affect the scattering of these bioaerosols. Taxa not present at all altitudes (non-common) showed an upward tendency of diversity for bacteria and plants with height, while the opposite trend was observed for fungi. Certain patterns were observed for fungi and specific plant genera, while bacterial taxa showed a more arbitrary distribution and no patterns were found. We detected a wide variety of aeroallergens and potential pathogens at all heights, which summed a substantial portion of the total abundance for fungi and plants. We also identified potential connections between the biological particles based on their abundances across the vertical section.

空气中存在的最丰富的生物颗粒是细菌，真菌繁殖体和花粉粒。他们中的许多人被证明是过敏原，甚至是导致空气传播传染病的原因，这支持了近年来有关其组成，多样性和变异性因素的研究的增加。但是，大多数城市地区的研究都是在靠近地面的地方进行的，因此很少考虑诸如高度之类的因素。因此，关于生物颗粒的组成如何随该变量变化的信息很少。在这里，我们使用高通量DNA测序技术研究了大城市地区四个海拔高度（约250 m）的细菌，真菌和植物的差异分布。大多数分类单元都存在于各个级别（普通分类单元）。然而，在80至150 m之间的过渡层似乎影响了这些生物气溶胶的散射。并非在所有海拔高度（非常见）都存在的分类单元显示，随着高度升高的细菌和植物的多样性呈上升趋势，而真菌则观察到相反的趋势。观察到真菌和特定植物属的某些模式，而细菌类群显示更随意的分布，未发现任何模式。我们在各个高度都检测到了多种气变应原和潜在病原体，这些真菌和植物占总丰度的很大一部分。我们还根据垂直截面上的生物丰度确定了生物粒子之间的潜在连接。并非在所有海拔高度（非常见）都存在的分类单元显示，随着高度升高的细菌和植物的多样性呈上升趋势，而真菌则观察到相反的趋势。观察到真菌和特定植物属的某些模式，而细菌类群显示更随意的分布，未发现任何模式。我们在各个高度都检测到了多种气变应原和潜在病原体，这些真菌和植物占总丰度的很大一部分。我们还根据垂直截面上的生物丰度确定了生物粒子之间的潜在连接。并非在所有海拔高度（非常见）都存在的分类单元显示，随着高度升高的细菌和植物的多样性呈上升趋势，而真菌则观察到相反的趋势。观察到真菌和特定植物属的某些模式，而细菌类群显示更随意的分布，未发现任何模式。我们在各个高度都检测到了多种气变应原和潜在病原体，这些真菌和植物占总丰度的很大一部分。我们还根据垂直截面上的生物丰度确定了生物粒子之间的潜在连接。我们在各个高度都检测到了多种气变应原和潜在病原体，这些真菌和植物占总丰度的很大一部分。我们还根据垂直截面上的生物丰度确定了生物粒子之间的潜在连接。我们在各个高度都检测到了多种气变应原和潜在病原体，这些真菌和植物占总丰度的很大一部分。我们还根据垂直截面上的生物丰度确定了生物粒子之间的潜在连接。