| description |
Dust storms frequently occur in deserts or poorly vegetated areas and long-range dust transport inevitably enhances deposition of exogenous biological particles, often associated to inorganic-organic aggregates. During winter, alien biological particles associated to large dust events may be deposited in vast numbers leaving persistent dust layers in the snowpack that, at the highest elevations are preserved in the ice of glaciers. Hence, the recent accelerated ice melting potentially leads to the sudden release of high concentrations of viable microorganisms which are currently sequestered in the cryosphere providing an inoculum needed to allow those "new" microbes to establish as commensals or pathogens. The characterization of these microorganisms is a priority while considering future trajectories of climatic anomalies as well as anthropogenically driven changes in land use in the source regions. An increasing frequency of dust storms may intensify the global dispersal, deposition and consequently the rapid colonization of new habitats by alien microbes with possible consequences on the environment and on public health. A huge desert dust deposition event that occurred in February 2014 over the Eastern Alps offered a unique opportunity to investigate, through a detailed metagenomic analysis, the presence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms and highlight potential accompanying risks. |