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Assessment of airborne Curvularia propagules in the atmosphere of Havana, Cuba

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Abstract

Even though the presence of Curvularia conidia in the tropical air and the role in respiratory allergy symptoms or plant diseases incidence has been reported, traditional aerobiological investigations usually do not consider their profound study. An aeromycological study of the Curvularia propagules in Havana was conducted during the years 2017 and 2018. Monitoring was carried out by means of volumetric viable and non-viable methodologies. Three types of microscopically identifiable airborne spores (Lunata, Geniculata and Maculans) were identified, according to their distinctive features (conidium shape, pigmentation, number and position of the septa), defined by optical microscopy with 400 × magnification. The spores of Curvularia showed prevalence during rainy months and were predominantly abundant through the daytime. The annual distribution showed the prevalence of the Lunata type, with a diurnal pattern and corroborated through the isolated species since all belonged to this morphological group. The average temperature and relative humidity, as well as the precipitations, correlated positively with the concentrations. The wind speed showed a negative correlation, which indicates that the climatic conditions of the Havana influence the aerobiological dynamics of airborne Curvularia propagules.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part of the activities of the Cuban National Project: PNH: P211LH007-017 “Caracterización aeromicológica de la atmósfera de La Habana: su impacto en la salud y la agricultura.” The authors thank to Osvaldo Cuesta, Javier Bolufé and Pedro Roura of the Institute of Meteorology (INSMET) for access to meteorological data.

Funding

This investigation was part of the Cuban National Project P211LH007-017 “Caracterización aeromicológica de la atmósfera de La Habana: su impacto en la salud y la agricultura”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Virology, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba

    Michel Almaguer, Lilivet Díaz & Sheyla Salas

  2. Department of Plant Biology and Soil Sciences, University of Vigo, Ourense, Spain

    María Fernández-González

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  1. Michel Almaguer
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M.A., L.D.: Research concept and design, Collection and/or assembly of data, Data analysis and interpretation, Writing the article, Critical revision of the article, Final approval of article., M.F.-G.: Data analysis and interpretation, Writing the article, Critical revision of the article, Final approval of article, and S.S.: Collection and/or assembly of data.

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Correspondence to Michel Almaguer.

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Almaguer, M., Díaz, L., Fernández-González, M. et al. Assessment of airborne Curvularia propagules in the atmosphere of Havana, Cuba. Aerobiologia 37, 53–69 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-020-09674-4

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