Water-to-Air Fractionation of Bacteria
T W Hejkal1, P A Larock, J W Winchester
1Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|February 1, 1980
Summary
Bacterial species show varied abilities to travel from water to air via bursting bubbles. Cell age and type significantly influence this airborne transport, impacting microbial dispersal.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Aerosol science
- Bacterial physiology
Background:
- Bubbles play a role in transporting microorganisms from aquatic environments to the atmosphere.
- Understanding the factors influencing this transport is crucial for microbial ecology and public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differential ability of various bacterial species to be aerosolized by bursting bubbles.
- To determine the influence of cell characteristics, such as age, on airborne bacterial concentration.
Main Methods:
- Generated bubbles in mixed bacterial suspensions at a controlled depth (2 cm below the surface).
- Measured bacterial concentrations in ejected jet drops (34–136 µm diameter).
- Calculated the concentration factor (CF) by comparing jet drop concentration to bulk suspension concentration.
Main Results:
- Serratia marinorubra and Micrococcus euryhalis exhibited concentration factors 10–100 times higher than E. coli, P. bathycetes, and B. subtilis spores.
- Pseudomonas bathycetes consistently showed a concentration factor near 1, indicating minimal aerosolization.
- Bacillus subtilis spores had a maximum concentration factor of 4.
- Escherichia coli's concentration factor increased from 6 (1–2 day old cultures) to 80 (5-day old cultures), suggesting cell age impacts aerosolization.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial species possess distinct efficiencies in being transported via bubble bursting.
- Cellular composition, influenced by cell age, is a significant factor determining a bacterium's ability to concentrate in airborne droplets.
- These findings have implications for understanding microbial dispersal in aquatic-to-air interfaces.
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