Amazonian fog harbors viable microbes
Fog formation over tropical forests remains poorly characterized, despite its potential role in bioaerosol dispersion and ecosystem processes. Here, we analyzed fog samples collected at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory using flow cytometry and culture-based techniques to characterize viable microbial communities. Microbial cell concentrations varied over an order of magnitude across 13 fog events, reaching up to 8 × 104 cells per ml of fog water. Flow cytometry consistently detected metabolically active cells, while culturing and mass spectrometry-based identification yielded eight viable bacterial species and seven fungal taxa. The bacteria Serratia marcescens, Ralstonia pickettii and Sphingomonas paucimobilis exhibited seasonal variations in prevalence. The fungal species identified were primarily mesophilic saprophytes and endophytes, commonly associated with soil and plant surfaces. Our findings indicate that fog harbors viable microbes, including Serratia marcescens and Ralstonia pickettii, which may imply a relevance of fog for microbial dispersal, colonization and nutrient cycling in the Amazon rainforest. Amazonian fog samples contain viable microbes, suggesting fog plays a role microbial dispersal, colonization and nutrient cycling, according to analyses of fog samples from a tall tower observatory.
Authors
- Luciano F. Huergo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7587-9510)
- Jens Weber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7710-4129)
- Subha S. Raj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0484-6663)
- Gregory W. Vandergrift (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8962-9897)
- Sanja Potgieter‐Vermaak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1994-7750)
- Bruna G. Sebben (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8950-5384)
- Maurício Cruz Mantoani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1514-6200)
- Philip Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1512-9176)
- Sebastian Brill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8535-6182)
- Jéssica Caroline dos Santos-Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-4234)
- Dulcilena M. Castro e Silva
- Theotonio Mendes Pauliquevis
- Gláucio Valdameri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1882-1512)
- R. C. Souza
- Laudemir C. Varanda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4671-5787)
- F. L. T. Gonçalves
- Paulo Artaxo
- Emerson L. Y. Hara
- Luiz A. T. Machado
- Rodrigo F. C. Marques
- Ulrich Pöschl
- Bettina Weber
- Cléo Q. Dias-Junior
- Rodolfo D. Piazza
- Scot T. Martin
- Nurun N. Lata
- Ivan Kourtchev
- Rosaria R. Ferreira
- Meinrat O. Andreae
- Rachel I. Albrecht
- Ricardo H. M. Godoi
- Carlos I. Yamamoto
- Christopher Pöhlker
- Swarup China
- Valter B. Duo Filho
Institutions
- Manchester Metropolitan University (GB)
- Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (BR)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Amazon (United States) (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Graz (AT)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz (BR)
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (US)
- King Saud University (SA)
- Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Institute of Physics (PL)
- Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science (MD)
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Pará (BR)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (DE)
- Universidade do Estado do Amazonas (BR)
- Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- Universidade Federal do Paraná (BR)
- Coventry University (GB)
- Universidade Federal de São Paulo (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2026-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03233-4
- Primary Topic
- Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos
- Office of Science
- Biological and Environmental Research