Fungal spore involvement in the resuspension of radiocaesium in summer

The atmospheric re-suspension of radiocaesium, derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, have been observed at Namie, a heavily contaminated area of Fukushima, since 2012. During the survey periods from 2012 to 2015, the radiocaesium activities maintained in atmosphere and were higher in the warm season than in the cold season. Electron microscopy showed that the particles collected on filters in summer were predominantly of biological origin (bioaerosols), with which the observed radiocaesium concentration varied. We conducted an additional aerosol analysis based on fluorescent optical microscopic observation and high-throughput DNA sequencing technique to identify bioaerosols at Namie in 2015 summer. The concentrations of bioaerosols fluctuated the order of 106 particles per m3, and the phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota (true Fungi) accounted for approximately two-thirds of the bioaerosols. Moreover, the fungal spore concentration in air was positively correlated with the radiocaesium concentration at Namie in summer 2016. The bioaerosol emissions from Japanese mixed forests in the temperate zone predominately included fungal cells, which are known to accumulate radiocaesium, and should be considered an important scientific issue that must be addressed.