Comparative Analysis of Airborne Bacterial and Fungal Communities in South-Eastern Italy and in Albania Using the Compositional Analysis of 16S and ITS rRNA Gene Sequencing Datasets

Abstract

This study investigates airborne bacterial and fungal communities in south-eastern Italy and Albania using advanced DNA-based techniques and compositional data analysis (CoDa). We assess the significance of airborne microbial communities, detailing our methodologies for site selection, sample collection, DNA extraction, and data analysis. Our results reveal distinct differences in microbial composition between the two regions, driven by local environmental factors. Specifically, Albanian samples showed higher abundances of bacterial species such as Rubellimicrobium roseum and Sphingomonas cynarae, while Italian samples were characterized by a prevalence of Truepera radiovictrix and Rubrobacter radiotolerans. In terms of fungi, Albanian sites exhibited greater abundance of Mycosphaerella tassiana, Aureobasidium pullulans, and Ascochyta herbicola. Aitchison distance-based dendrograms and principal component analysis (PCA) biplots, utilizing singular value decomposition, clearly delineated a geographical separation of microbial communities, underscoring the impact of regional atmospheric conditions on microbial composition. In the discussion, we interpret these findings in the context of regional environmental factors, highlighting their implications for understanding regional differences in airborne microbial communities. The conclusion emphasizes the effectiveness of advanced DNA techniques and CoDa in environmental microbiology, offering insights into how local environmental conditions shape microbial communities and suggesting directions for future research and public health considerations.

Keywords

• airborne microbiome
• bioaerosol
• metagenomics
• 16S rRNA sequencing
• ITS rRNA sequencing
• compositional data analysis