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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2005, p. 804-810, Vol. 71, No. 2
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.2.804-810.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Source Bioaerosol Concentration and rRNA Gene-Based Identification of Microorganisms Aerosolized at a Flood Irrigation Wastewater Reuse Site

Tania Paez-Rubio,1 Emily Viau,1 Socorro Romero-Hernandez,2 and Jordan Peccia1*

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona,1 Institute of Engineering, Autonomous University of Baja California, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico2

Received 19 February 2004/ Accepted 2 September 2004

Reuse of partially treated domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation is a growing practice in arid regions throughout the world. A field sampling campaign to determine bioaerosol concentration, culturability, and identity at various wind speeds was conducted at a flooded wastewater irrigation site in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Direct fluorescent microscopy measurements for total microorganisms, culture-based assays for heterotrophs and gram-negative enteric bacteria, and small-subunit rRNA gene-based cloning were used for microbial characterizations of aerosols and effluent wastewater samples. Bioaerosol results were divided into two wind speed regimens: (i) below 1.9 m/s, average speed 0.5 m/s, and (ii) above 1.9 m/s, average speed 4.5 m/s. Average air-borne concentration of total microorganisms, culturable heterotrophs, and gram-negative enteric bacteria were, respectively, 1.1, 4.2, and 6.2 orders of magnitude greater during the high-wind-speed regimen. Small-subunit rRNA gene clone libraries processed from samples from air and the irrigation effluent wastewater during a high-wind sampling event indicate that the majority of air clone sequences were more than 98% similar to clone sequences retrieved from the effluent wastewater sample. Overall results indicate that wind is a potential aerosolization mechanism of viable wastewater microorganisms at flood irrigation sites.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287. Phone: (480) 965-2220. Fax: (480) 965-0557. E-mail: jordan.peccia{at}asu.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2005, p. 804-810, Vol. 71, No. 2
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.2.804-810.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Baertsch, C., Paez-Rubio, T., Viau, E., Peccia, J. (2007). Source Tracking Aerosols Released from Land-Applied Class B Biosolids during High-Wind Events. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4522-4531 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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