2010 年 15 巻 3-4 号 p. 97-101
The microbial particles transported by Asian desert dust (KOSA) possibly impact ecosystems and human health in the downwind environments, and are commonly termed “bioaerosols” including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and pollen. The snow cover at Mount Tateyama records the information of aerosol particles during the winter and early spring, and includes microorganisms with sand particles carried from the China. The microorganisms in snow samples including sand particles grew in media containing up to 10 % NaCl, while the control-snow sample showed no microbial growth, suggesting that bacteria tolerant to high salinities remain viable with sand particles. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis using 16S rDNA sequences revealed that the microbial compositions in the snow samples varied among the snow layers and that dominant bacterial species belonged to the members of the genus Bacillus and Propionibacterium. Minor species were composed of the members of Cytophaga-Flexibacter group and beta-proteobacterial subdivision, which are minor species in the atmosphere. Presumably, the viable halotolerant bacteria were frequently transported to Mt. Tateyama by the long-range KOSA particle transport from China and the bacterial species compositions may change depending on the dates of KOSA dust events.
