Aerobiology and Environmental Zonation in Gypsum Caves: A Comparative Study of Culturing and NGS Approaches.

ABSTRACT: Classical aerobiological studies commonly use high-volume air samplers to quantify and identify cultivable airborne bacteria and fungi. However, this approach introduces a significant bias, as it overlooks the non-cultivable fraction, which likely constitutes a major component of the airborne microbiome. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has addressed this limitation, enabling a more comprehensive characterization of the cave aerobiome. This study analyzes both cultivable and non-cultivable airborne bacteria from Covadura and C3 caves, located in the Gypsum Karst of Sorbas (SE Spain). A total of 24 bacterial genera were identified using culture-based methods, whereas NGS revealed 749 genera. Culture-based methods using the surface air system (SAS) predominantly recovered Gram-

SUBMITTER: Martin-Pozas T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12484262 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature