Abstract

FERRO, Raquel et al. Aeromycology of Lisboa and its relation with meteorological factors. Rev Port Imunoalergologia [online]. 2018, vol.26, n.1, pp.21-33. ISSN 0871-9721.

Introduction: Fungal spores present in outdoor environments are responsible for triggering of allergic reactions, and therefore it is important to characterize the aeromycological data in a region. Objectives: To identify and quantify the types of fungal spores present in Lisbon atmosphere and to analyze the influence of meteorological factors. Methodology: Monitoring data from the Lisbon station of the Portuguese Aerobiology Network of fungal spores from 1 January to 31 December 2013 were analyzed. A Burkard Seven Day Volumetric Spore-trap^® collector and optical microscope reading system based on the analysis of a longitudinal line at the center of the slide with a magnification of 400x were used. The influence of the meteorological factors on the concentrations of fungal spores was evaluated through the Spearman correlation analysis. Results: A total of 657,922 fungal spores were collected at a mean daily concentration of 1,803 fungi / m3 spores. The most frequent types of fungi spores were Cladosporium cladosporoide (53.6%), Amanita (8.8%), Ustilago (4.3%), Leptosphaeria (4.2%) Coprinus (4.0%) Cladosporium herbarum (3.7%), Mycospharella (3.4%), Boletus (2.1%), Aspergillus-Penicillium (1.8%), Agaricus (1.4%) and Alternaria (1.1%). The highest concentrations of fungal spores occurred between late spring and autumn. October was the month with the highest fungal spore (172,507/m3) and with maximum daily (13,561 fungi/m3). Mean temperature presented a positive correlation with conidia concentrations with total spores and a negative correlation with ascospore levels. Relative humidity and precipitation had a positive effect with ascospores but negative with conidia, myxomycetes and total spores. Basidiospore showed a positive correlation with precipitation alone. The average wind speed had a negative effect on conidia, basidiospore and total spores. Conclusions: This study allowed to characterize the yearly distribution of fungal spores in Lisbon, as well as its relationship with the meteorological variables, allowing to plan studies for evaluation of allergic sensitization and its eventual clinical impact.

Keywords : Aerobiology; climate parameters; fungal spores; Lisbon.

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