PR Microbes hitchhike across Atlantic on desert dust

[Guest guest]

Public release date: 24-May-2006

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Contact: Jim Sliwa

jsliwa@...

202-942-9297

American Society for Microbiology

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/asfm-mha051706.php

Microbes hitchhike across Atlantic on desert dust

ORLANDO – May 24, 2006 -- Bacteria and fungi, some with the

potential to cause disease in plants or animals, may be finding

their way from Africa to the Americas by hitchhiking on microscopic

dust particles kicked up by storms in the Sahara, according to

research presented today at the 106th General Meeting of the

American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida.

" This study presents evidence of early summer survival and transport

of microorganisms from North Africa to a mid-Atlantic research

site, " says Dale of the U.S. Geological Survey in St.

sburg, Florida, one of the researchers on the study.

and his colleagues tested air samples on a research ship in

the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during May and June 2003 to

determine if airborne, viable populations of bacteria and fungi

could be detected and also to see if total population counts

increased with the presence of airborne desert dust.

" The phenomenon known as desert-dust storms moves an estimated 2.2

billion metric tons of soil and dried sediment through the Earth's

atmosphere each year. The largest of these events is capable of

dispersing large quantities of dust across oceans and continents.

Since a gram of desert soil may contain as many as 1 billion

bacterial cells, the presence of airborne dust should correspond

with increased concentrations of airborne microorganisms, " says

Viable bacterial and fungal populations were collected on 24 of 40

sampling days. The three days where the highest populations were

collected corresponded with the two highest periods of dust activity

as determined by the U.S. Navy's Naval Aerosol Analysis and

Prediction System Global Aerosol Model.

DNA analysis matched two of the isolates 100 percent to two dust-

borne isolates previously collected from the atmosphere in Mali. One

of them, a known human pathogen, has also been found in atmospheric

samples in the U.S. Virgin Islands when African desert dust was

present. Additional analysis identified a number of bacteria and

fungi capable of causing disease in animals and plants, including

the cause of Florida Sycamore canker.

" It is tempting to speculate that transatlantic transport of dust

could be a vector to renew reservoirs of some plant and animal

pathogens in North America and could also be the cause of new

diseases, " says .

###

[Guest guest]

-and bush wants to go dump tons of mycotoxins in columbia, just south

of us, to try to kill coca, because the tons of round up they dumped

which actually caused fusarium molds/mycotoxins to grow, didn't kill

the coca, and neither did the fusarium. this just blows me away. I

think if people want to kill theirselfs with drugs, who cares, their

going to do it one way or another and alcohol is legal. garenteed if

people want to escape life by drugs, illegal or not, they will. looks

like many prescribed drugs can help with that too. if we are not

allready in a mold epidemic its

coming.

-- In

, " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

>

> Public release date: 24-May-2006

> [ Print Article | E-mail Article | Close Window ]

>

> Contact: Jim Sliwa

> jsliwa@...

> 202-942-9297

> American Society for Microbiology

>

> http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/asfm-mha051706.php

>

>

> Microbes hitchhike across Atlantic on desert dust

> ORLANDO – May 24, 2006 -- Bacteria and fungi, some with the

> potential to cause disease in plants or animals, may be finding

> their way from Africa to the Americas by hitchhiking on microscopic

> dust particles kicked up by storms in the Sahara, according to

> research presented today at the 106th General Meeting of the

> American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida.

> " This study presents evidence of early summer survival and

transport

> of microorganisms from North Africa to a mid-Atlantic research

> site, " says Dale of the U.S. Geological Survey in St.

> sburg, Florida, one of the researchers on the study.

>

> and his colleagues tested air samples on a research ship in

> the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during May and June 2003 to

> determine if airborne, viable populations of bacteria and fungi

> could be detected and also to see if total population counts

> increased with the presence of airborne desert dust.

>

> " The phenomenon known as desert-dust storms moves an estimated 2.2

> billion metric tons of soil and dried sediment through the Earth's

> atmosphere each year. The largest of these events is capable of

> dispersing large quantities of dust across oceans and continents.

> Since a gram of desert soil may contain as many as 1 billion

> bacterial cells, the presence of airborne dust should correspond

> with increased concentrations of airborne microorganisms, " says

>

>

> Viable bacterial and fungal populations were collected on 24 of 40

> sampling days. The three days where the highest populations were

> collected corresponded with the two highest periods of dust

activity

> as determined by the U.S. Navy's Naval Aerosol Analysis and

> Prediction System Global Aerosol Model.

>

> DNA analysis matched two of the isolates 100 percent to two dust-

> borne isolates previously collected from the atmosphere in Mali.

One

> of them, a known human pathogen, has also been found in atmospheric

> samples in the U.S. Virgin Islands when African desert dust was

> present. Additional analysis identified a number of bacteria and

> fungi capable of causing disease in animals and plants, including

> the cause of Florida Sycamore canker.

>

> " It is tempting to speculate that transatlantic transport of dust

> could be a vector to renew reservoirs of some plant and animal

> pathogens in North America and could also be the cause of new

> diseases, " says .

>

>

> ###

>