Airborne bacteria in show caves from Southern Spain

• Published in: Microbial cell Vol. 8; no. 10; pp. 247 - 255
• Main Authors: Dominguez-Moñino, Irene, Jurado, Valme, Rogerio-Candelera, Miguel Angel, Hermosin, Bernardo, Saiz-Jimenez, Cesareo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Austria Shared Science Publishers OG 04.10.2021
• Subjects: Aerobiology; Airborne Bacteria; Arthrobacter; Bacillus; Micrococcus; Phototrophic Biofilms; Research Report; phototrophic biofilms; Micrococcus; airborne bacteria; Arthrobacter; Bacillus; aerobiology
• ISSN: 2311-2638; 2311-2638
• DOI: 10.15698/mic2021.10.762

This work presents a study on the airborne bacteria recorded in three Andalusian show caves, subjected to different managements. The main differences within the caves were the absence of lighting and phototrophic biofilms in , the periodic maintenance and low occurrence of phototrophic biofilms in , and the abundance of phototrophic biofilms in speleothems and walls in . These factors conditioned the diversity of bacteria in the caves and therefore there are large differences among the CFU m , determined using a suction impact collector, equipment widely used in aerobiological studies. The study of the bacterial diversity, inside and outside the caves, indicates that the air is mostly populated by bacteria thriving in the subterranean environment. In addition, the diversity seems to be related with the presence of abundant phototrophic biofilms, but not with the number of visitors received by each cave.