Insight into the differences in airborne bioaerosols dynamic assembly between hospital and school environments in...

Hospital-influenced bioaerosols pose critical health risks due to their pathogenic potential, yet their dynamic assembly mechanisms during vulnerable time period remain poorly characterized. Through parallel sampling of hospital- and school-influenced bioaerosol during summer periods, we revealed distinct diurnal fluctuations and site-specific microbial assembly patterns. HYSPLIT trajectory modeling demonstrated that school-influenced bioaerosols exhibited greater meteorological source diversity than hospital counterparts, promoting stochastic assembly processes. Conversely, co-occurrence network analysis identified deterministic assembly driven by hospital bioaerosols capacity to utilize particulate-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Notably, Proteobacteria-associated pathogens exhibited environmental resilience and were significantly more abundant in hospital aerosols compared to school environments. These findings challenge the conventional view of bioaerosols as passively dispersed entities, establishing a mechanistic link between anthropogenic pollution sources and pathogenic bioaerosol persistence in summer ecosystems. Our work provides critical insights for predicting microbial risks in healthcare-associated atmospheric environments.