Dust particles as a supportive environment for biofilm-forming prokaryotes

Airborne microorganisms (bioaerosols), traveling across long distances, can significantly affect ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, and human health. Dust events are a major source of bioaerosols, contributing to their global dispersion. Due to climate change-driven desertification and land-use changes, these events are projected to increase in intensity and frequency. Therefore, the transport of microorganisms over dust is expected to become more prominent. Hence, it is essential to understand the mechanisms allowing dust-borne microorganisms to survive in their atmospheric journy. Here we will present our findings on the impact of dust origins, meteorological conditions as well as diurnal sampling time on the microbial community composition and bioactivity through high throughput sequencing analysis. Our results show connectivity between bioactive groups. We will also present our findings on the distinctive characteristics of dust-borne prokaryotes isolated from dust events, showcasing diverse spore-forming bacteria with biofilm formation abilities. These findings indicate their possible preferential survival over dust, and open new paths to better understanding the survival strategies of dust-borne microorganisms.