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The size distribution of airborne bacteria and human pathogenic bacteria in a commercial composting plant

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Abstract

Composting plants are regarded as one of the important sources of environmental bioaerosols. However, limitations in the size distribution of airborne bacteria have prevented our comprehensive understanding of their risk to human health and their dispersal behavior. In this study, different sizes of airborne bacteria were collected using an eight-stage impactor from a full-scale composting facility. Size-related abundance and communities of airborne bacteria as well as human pathogenic bacteria (HPB) were investigated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing coupled with droplet digital PCR. Our results indicate that the bacterial concentrations from the eight stages were approximately 104–105copies/m3. Although no statistical correlation was detected between the particle size and the Shannon index, the influence of size on bacterial lineages was observed in both composting and packaging areas. For airborne bacteria from different stages, the dominant phyla were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, and the dominant genera was Bacillus. Seven out of eight HPB with a small geometric mean aerodynamic diameter had a high concentration in composting areas. Based on diameters of 2.42 to 5.09 µm, most HPB in the composting areas were expected to be deposited on the bronchus and secondary bronchus. However, in the packaging areas, the deposition of HPB (diameters 3.70 to 8.96 µm) occurred in the upper part of the respiratory tract. Our results on the size distribution, abundance, and diversity of these bacteria offer important information for the systematic evaluation of bacterial pathogenicity and the potential health impacts on workers in composting plants and the surrounding residents.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Beijing Agriculture Innovation Consortium (Grant No. BAIC04-2020), the Research Foundation of BAAFS (Grant No. KJCX20200402), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51878053, 41961134033), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 6182019), the Key Research and Development Program of Ningxia Autonomous Region (Grant No. 2019BFG02015), and the National Key R&D Plan (Grant Nos. 2016YFD0800205, 2017YFD0801402).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Beijing Agro-Biotechnology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China

    Min Gao, Ziye Yang, Yajie Guo, Mo Chen, Tianlei Qiu & Xuming Wang

  2. College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China

    Ziye Yang & Xingbin Sun

Authors
  1. Min Gao
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  2. Ziye Yang
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  3. Yajie Guo
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  4. Mo Chen
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  5. Tianlei Qiu
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  6. Xingbin Sun
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  7. Xuming Wang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xingbin Sun or Xuming Wang.

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Highlights

• Bacterial concentrations from eight stages were 104–105copies/m3.

• Diameter influenced clustering of bacterial and HPB lineages.

• Dg of 8 HPB ranged from 2.42 to 5.09 µm in composting areas.

• Dg of 8 HPB ranged from 3.70 to 8.96 µm in packaging areas.

• HPB had high concentrations and small sizes in composting areas.

Special Issue—Bioaerosol, Environment and Health

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Gao, M., Yang, Z., Guo, Y. et al. The size distribution of airborne bacteria and human pathogenic bacteria in a commercial composting plant. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 15, 39 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1356-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1356-4

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