2015 FSCG Summer Intern Abstract
The Dust Atmospheric Recovery Technology (DART) System was Developed
to Recover Plant Pathogens in African Dust Storms over Florida
Dr. Andrew Schuerger, Univ. of Florida, 505 Odyssey Way, N. Merritt Island, FL 32899; 321-261-3774;
email: schuerg@ufl.edu
Dust emanates year-round from Africa and impacts air quality in North America. African
dust storms deliver over 50 million tonnes of dust over Florida each year. Several recent studies
have demonstrated that human and plant pathogens from African aerosols can be transported to
N. America in naturally occurring dust storms. What
is unknown is whether these ‘presumptive pathogens’
impact plant health in Florida. In order to initiate a
long-term monitoring program of pathogens in
African dust plumes, we have developed a dust
collection system called DART (Dust Atmospheric
Recovery Technology) (figure). The DART dust
sampler can be mounted on a F104 Starfighter jet
(top figure; Starfighter Aerospace, Kennedy Space
Center, FL) and a T6 Texan propeller driven airplane
(bottom figure; Warbird Adventures, Kissimmee,
FL). DART was successfully flown over FL in Dec. 2013 on the F104 and on the T6 in the fall
of 2014. The DART system utilizes a high-volume pump to pass air through 6 separate filtration
units where both aerosols and microbial cells are captured. The filtration systems exhibit flow
rates from 25-142 L/min depending on the pore size and brand of filters used. Filtration units
can be turned on and off individually as required for specific science flight objectives. The
DART dust sampler has performed nominally up to 7600 m, 0.92 Mach, and 3.5 +G’s.
The 2015 Florida Space Grant Consortium and Space Florida summer intern will
participate in the molecular identification of fungi and bacteria previously recovered during
DART flights over Florida. The successful candidate should be familiar with molecular biology
in general; and specifically DNA extractions, PCR, electrophoresis, and 16S and ITS sequencing.
In addition, the student will work with the DART dust sampler to identify the best method for
recovering DNA from filters to permit future metagenomics sequencing on the total microbial
diversity in the dust samples. The student will work 8 hrs per day, 5 days per week in Dr.
Schuerger’s microbiology lab in the Space Life Sciences Lab (SLSL), Exploration Park Florida.
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