Enlisting Aero-algal Flora and Algal Allergens Using Fan Dust Sampling Method from Pune, Maharashtra

Abstract

Algae in the atmosphere are one of the bio-components of the environment. Despite the fact that they may have a negative impact on human health, they are the least studied organism in the field of aerobiology. Airborne algae continue to be viable in the atmosphere in the form of spores and filaments. In order to investigate the intramural diversity of airborne algae in Pune, eight residences were chosen, from which 16 fan dust samples were collected over a ten-day period. Total (108) aero-algal forms were recorded. Out of which 107 were Cyanophyta, and only one was Chlorophyta. The dominance of Cyanophyta members is attributed to the presence of a thick mucilaginous sheath around them, which allows them to tolerate the dryness. Overall, filamentous cyanophytes (71) outnumber coccoid cyanophytes (36). However, both fan dust slide samples and culture slide samples show variance. Coccoid cyanophytes (53) outnumber filamentous cyanophytes (11) in direct slide scans, although filamentous cyanophytes (25) were somewhat more numerous in culture samples than coccoid Cyanophyta (19). This increase in filamentous forms might be because of hormogonia of filamentous algae, which remained unidentified in direct slide scan and upon inoculation underwent reproduction increasing number of filamentous algae in culture slides. Chrooccocus, Gloeocapsa, Lyngbya, Nostoc, and Stigonema were among the forms found on the first and tenth days of fan dust sampling, indicating that they were a common inhabitant of fan dust during the study and that the fan, as an aero sampler, was able to capture them, demonstrating its potency as an aero sampler. Soil can be a substantial factor in the creation of fan dust, as these genera were frequently separated from the soil. Gloeocapsa, Phormidium, Lyngbya, Schizothrix, Cylindrospermum, Nostoc, Anabaena, Scytonema, Calothrix, and Scenedesmus were among the allergic aero-algal genera discovered during the investigation.