Characterization of bioaerosols by molecular microbial ecology Abstract Exposed to organic contaminants and gases, workers in pig housing facilities risk developing chronic respiratory inflammation. Several studies have documented this situation, but it was always difficult to link the causes and effects. A number of studies on biodiversity in the environment have been based solely on the culture of microorganisms, which limits the microbial biodiversity and underestimates the microbiological load. Other methods, based on molecular biology, have been used to analyze the microbiology of soils, but not that of bioaerosols. The researchers applied these two methods for comparison purposes and studied the impact of seasons and the manure management method on the type and load of the bioaerosols in pig operations. They show the usefulness of molecular biology tools in characterizing bioaerosols in an agricultural environment, but conclude that the analyses based on this method also have limitations that could have an impact on the extent of the biodiversity observed. As a result, classical culture methods for microorganisms remain an essential complement. Produced Under this Project Scientific Reports Characterization of bioaerosols by molecular microbial ecology Research Report: R-595 Scientific Publications Assessment of the presence of pathogens and multidrug resistant pathogens in the air, manure and nasal flora of farmers working in swine confinement buildings using different production systemsLétourneau V., Mériaux A., Cormier Y., Duchaine C., Massé D.Source : in Faire le pont : Recherche en santé rurale, nordique et circumpolaire : 6e conférence de la Société canadienne de recherche en santé rurale et 1ère conférence de la Société canadienne pour la santé circumpolaire, (6e : 27-29 octobre, 2005 : Québec, Canada), 2005Molecular ecological analysis of bioaerosols of swine confinement buildingsNehmé B., Létourneau V., Veillette M., Mériaux A., Duchaine C.Source : in Faire le pont : Recherche en santé rurale, nordique et circumpolaire : 6e conférence de la Société canadienne de recherche en santé rurale et 1ère conférence de la Société canadienne pour la santé circumpolaire, (6e : 27-29 octobre, 2005 : Québec, Canada), 2005Detection and characterization of archaebacteria as bioaerosols in swine confinement buildingsNehmé B., Létourneau V., Duchaine C.Source : in 7th National Conference of the Canadian Rural Health Research Society (7th : October 19-21, 2006 : Prince George, British Columbia), 2006Caractérisation microbienne des bioaérosols des porcheries du Québec à l'aide d'outils de biologie moléculaire: une nouvelle vision de cet environnement de travailNehmé B., Létourneau V., Forster R. J., Mériaux A., Veillette M., Duchaine C.Source : in Congrès annuel conjoint APPQ-RSR du FRSQ (1-2 décembre, 2006 : Québec, Canada), 2006 Other Project(s) You May be Interested in Use of molecular tools for studying fungal diversity in aerosols Additional Information Type: Project Number: 0099-4750 Status: Completed Year of completion: 2008 Research Field: Chemical and Biological Hazard Prevention Team: Caroline Duchaine (Centre de recherche de l'IUCPQ)