Sampler selection for whole airborne biological community analysis using Next Generation Sequencing

A great effort is being made by the international community to reduce air pollution but very little is known about the biological community (airbiota) present in the outdoor air. The study of the airbiota is relevant due to its potential role in dissemination of plant, animal and human diseases, with important implications in public health, and a huge economic impact on crops and stockbreeding productivity. Our current knowledge about airbiota is almost restricted to pollen and fungal spores, measured through microscopy techniques, and bacterial communities studies using culture-dependent analysis or amplicon-based approaches, while studies on viruses are almost inexistent. Therefore, a global overview of the airborne biological community is crucial to understand the dynamics of the air ecosystem, to identify marker organisms and to establish new air quality indicators. However, there is not a standardized method to capture the whole diversity present in the air. Therefore, the evaluation of different capturing methods is a key step to establish a standard framework.