Air quality in cities is the result of a complex interaction between natural and anthropogenic environmental conditions. The ambient airborne particulate matter considered as a significant environmental pollutant. The present study aims to focus on isolation and identification of outdoor airborne fungi and heavy metals that were detected in atmospheric particulate matter from different sites in Damietta Governorate. The suspended particulate matter was sampled by using the filtration technique at four locations for three months, April, May and June 2015 in the atmosphere of Damietta Governorate. The average concentration of suspended particulate matter for sampling sites was 124.653±34.713 μg/m3. A total number of 616 colony/m3 was detected in the suspended particulate matter. Eight mold species belonging to three genera were isolated from suspended particulate matter: Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Alternaria. Aspergillus was the most frequent and their abundance was greater than the other fungal genera. Within these, A. flavus and A. niger were the predominant species and comprised 21% of the total fungal count of the isolates. The highest concentrations of aflatoxins (AFs) were 4.1 ng/ml and 2.123 ng/ml, which were produced by A. parasticus and A. flavus strains, respectively. On the other hand, the isolate of A. niger has the ability to produce ochratoxin A (OTA) with mean concentration of 7.775 μg/ml. The concentrations trend of 6 heavy metals in the suspended particulate matter revealed that Fe > Cu > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cd.
F. Hasballah, A., & Sh. El-Henawy, R. (2019). Detection of Contamination by Pathogenic Fungi and Heavy Metals in Outdoor Air of Damietta Governorate, Egypt. Journal of Environmental Sciences. Mansoura University, 48(1), 1-16. doi: 10.21608/joese.2019.149363
MLA
Amany F. Hasballah; Reham Sh. El-Henawy. "Detection of Contamination by Pathogenic Fungi and Heavy Metals in Outdoor Air of Damietta Governorate, Egypt". Journal of Environmental Sciences. Mansoura University, 48, 1, 2019, 1-16. doi: 10.21608/joese.2019.149363
HARVARD
F. Hasballah, A., Sh. El-Henawy, R. (2019). 'Detection of Contamination by Pathogenic Fungi and Heavy Metals in Outdoor Air of Damietta Governorate, Egypt', Journal of Environmental Sciences. Mansoura University, 48(1), pp. 1-16. doi: 10.21608/joese.2019.149363
VANCOUVER
F. Hasballah, A., Sh. El-Henawy, R. Detection of Contamination by Pathogenic Fungi and Heavy Metals in Outdoor Air of Damietta Governorate, Egypt. Journal of Environmental Sciences. Mansoura University, 2019; 48(1): 1-16. doi: 10.21608/joese.2019.149363
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