Investigation of Dust Microbial Community and Identification of its Dominance Species in Northern Regions of Sistan and Baluchestan Province

Many studies have been done on various properties of dust and one of the most important characteristics of dust is the ability to carry different microorganisms from the source points. The aim of this study was to investigate the bacterial and fungal community of dust and to identify its dominance species in a single event of intense dust storm, in the northern regions of Sistan and Blauchestan Province (Sistan plain). Dust samples were accordingly collected by Siphon dust samplers after one of the most intense dust storms in 28-31 August, 2015, from 5 cities in the northern regions of Sistan and Blauchestan Province; after that, the microbial community of dust was determined by culturing in petri dish and its dominant bacterial and fungal species were identified. The results showed maximum aerobic and anaerobic bacteria population was observed in the Hirmand city dust (1875000 CFU/g and 156667 CFU/gr, respectively). The maximum aerobic fungi population was observed in the Zabol city (833 CFU/g) and the maximum anaerobic fungus population was observed in Zahak city (2167 CFU/g). The most frequent type of bacteria was Bacillus sp, which was followed by Streptomyces pactum. The most frequent type of fungi in this research was Penicillium sp and the second one was Aspergillus. The results showed the high and variated microbial community, especially pathogenic fungi associated with dust in this region.