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Microbial Zig Bacteria strains reach Europe via Saharan dust
The global spread of bacteria can also occur via dust particles in the air. A team of Italian and Austrian researchers found this in the investigation of the Saharan dust, which is transported in extreme betting events across the Mediterranean to the north. "In the clouds, microorganisms, often sitting on particles, can cover very long distances," the scientists report.
Recent studies show that entire communities of bacteria are being transported northward by Saharan dust. According to the researchers, "Pathogens could also become established", leading to an increased health risk. The scientists have published the results of their study in the journal "Microbiome".
With the dust of the Sahara, microorganisms are transported over long distances. (Image: Leo Lintang / fotolia.com) Saharan dust is transported extremely far
Extreme weather events can send large amounts of Saharan dust to the north. The research team headed by Tobias Weil from the Italian Foundation "Fondazione Edmund Mach" has examined the contamination of this dust with microorganisms in his current study. Also involved were scientists from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the universities of Innsbruck, Florence and Venice. The team comprised geologists, meteorologists, microbiologists and bioinformaticians. They analyzed the "biological cargo of sand clouds, which were deposited in the Dolomites and stood out very clearly as reddish deposits from the snow," reports the University of Innsbruck.
Whole communities of microorganisms live in the Sahara dust
In analyzing the Sahara dust, the scientists found that extreme events transport "not only a fraction of, but entire communities of microorganisms from the Sahara to the Alps, where they are trapped in snow and ice of the high mountains in winter." In addition, the proven microbial Communities were particularly resistant and were able to partially survive in completely different habitats. Even the cold in snow and ice could not harm many of them.
Climate change is compounding the problem
Even today, microorganisms with the Sahara dust cross the Mediterranean Sea, although the corresponding extreme weather events have been relatively rare so far. However, in the course of climate change, according to the researchers, such extreme events are becoming more frequent and glaciers melting. So not only is more Saharan dust coming over the Mediterranean, but the increase in temperature will also promote the revitalization of the transferred cells, which would otherwise remain frozen in the ice. While sand deposits in the summer, the cells are usually diluted by precipitation, they accumulate in the winter in the ice and snow layers, explain the scientists. Here are therefore many communities of microorganisms that could reach a critical mass by the advancing ice and snow melting even displace native species.
Threatening spread of pathogens
In the worst case, the transport by Saharan dust could also establish pathogens, which would lead to an increased health risk for humans, animals and the environment, the scientists warn. This problem has also been raised at the United Nations and various monitoring and protection measures have been proposed with regard to desert sand storms. The interdisciplinary team of Italian and Austrian researchers recommends "rapid and efficient ways of monitoring the risks posed by snow-and-ice-borne microbial communities in remote regions." Sahrawan dust could potentially pose an underestimated health risk. (Fp)