Fungi in Air over the Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Exposures of nutrient plates and silicone slides were made over the Atlantic Ocean on two transatlantic flights in June and Aug., .1951, from Montreal to London and return, using the McGill-GE, slit and filter samplers. Of 4991 colonies Cladosporium made up 82.3%, nonsporulating 3.2, Alternaria 2.6, Pullularia 2.3, yeasts 2.1, Penicillium 1.6, Botrytis 1.5, Stemphylium 1.1%. Papularia Fusarium Streptomyces, Aspergillus Oospora Phoma, Helminthosporium, Cephalothecium Zythia Tricho-derma, Verticillium . Spicaria, Sporormia Nigrospora, Cephalo-sporium Sphaeronema Coniothyrium and Chaetomium were occasionally found. Quantitatively Cladosporium had a concentration of 2.4 viable spores per cubic foot in polar air and 7.8 in tropical air. Other genera were less than one per cubic foot. Fungus spores were determined on a cubic foot basis from silicone slides exposed in the slit sampler. Total numbers ranged from 0.2 in polar air to 529 per cubic foot in tropical air. Cladosporium spores were most abundant with a maximum of 9.0 per cubic foot. Yeast cells and smut spores in tropical air had concentrations up to 5 cubic foot. Many fungus spores were in clumps, and hyphal fragments were common. There was no correlation between numbers of fungi in the air and distance from land. The evidence suggested a correlation between numbers of fungi in the air and air masses and demonstrated also that fungi can successfully make the west to east crossing of the North Atlantic.