Polen 12:65-76(2003)

IDENTIFICATION OF FUNGAL SPORES 11\" THE

ATMOSPHERE OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
(NW SPAIN) IN THE WINTER PERIOD

Aira, M.J .'; La-Serna, 1.2 & Dopazo , A.'

'Departamento de Biologla Vegetal, Facultad do Fanmacia,

Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Campos sur, 15704, Espaa.
'Departamento de Biologa Vegetal, Facultad de Farmacia,
Universidad de La Laguna, 31!071, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Espaa

SUMMARY: A qu:tnti t:tthc :md qualuativc study of fungal spores in lhc :umosphcrc of
Santiago de Compo!ttciOI (~\Y Spain) was curia:! out from Oe::cmb.r 2 bt. 1991, lo M:uc.h
21st, 1998. The tot:tl nt1mb er or spores collccl cd was 35,9&7, co rrespo nd ing to 47
morphological typcs. including numcrous sporcs lhot cause re spir:uory :tllcrgics such :u
Coprim :mtJ t\sprr~illlll Pttliri!Jium, import:ml pbnt pathogens suc h as Plco spom and
Partlplrtuas;lmaia, as wcll :u sporcs of clinlcal ond phytoJ.1t hog.c:nic intcre.s t, in clmlillg
ClndtMpnrillm and LrprClsplrorria. Thc maximum val ue o( 1he tot:al .spores W.:JS rccord e<.l
on J:~nu:ary 3rd wilh 1,461 S(Klltslm' :md lhc mn imum oa March 9th w11h 63 s~n:s/fn\.
Thc innucnce o 1he ml in mctcorologic:a! (tctors on spore concenara ti on w:u studicd.
wilh humiduy. maximllm temperature and hours o( suns h i n~ bcmg thc m os1 stg.ni fic.1nl
parameters for thc majorily of 1.1x:t. Finl ll y, 1hc models of inl r a.~di urn;:-1 varialton for the
mos t frequent sporc typcs in thc city atmcsp hi.' rc are ruposcd.
KEY WOKDS: :u:rubiology. aeromycolog)', winlcr, S~nl iago. NW of S, in

RF.S1J\1r.N Se ha rcaliz:ado un estudio cu:muLatho y cualJl3t'.' O de l:u. esporas de hongos

en la Olmsfcra de S>nllago de C001posteb (NO Esfl3a) delc el 21 el< dicicmbr< de 1997
al 21 tle marzo de 1998 El nmero tot:J.I de cspons recogitl <J s laa sido d e 35.987, (JUC
corrt S[lOndcn : 1. 47 tipos morrolgieos. en tre los que st: idcnlificaron numerosM cspon s
C3 US3ntcs de :~ lergi::~.s respiratorias como Coprirws y AsprrgfllmPrn it'iitiwll, imwrl unlr.:~
p:~tgcnos vegetales co1ro Plt'o1pora y rarapluuospharria. as como C!~pora s q1u: dc.~t;~
CJ fl ta nlo por su 1111e r~s clr~i co como ru osanita rio. en tre e llas, Claduspurlum )'
Uprmphnrric. El vak>r mixuno tkl tol.ll ~e esporas se registr el c!f:t 3 de enero con l ..t61
espor.aslm' y el m ini n~o el 9 de nu rzo con 63 esporas/m 1 ~e hJ C!oludiado la i nflu cn ci ~ de
los pri11Cipalcs faclores meteorolgicos en 1;~ concentracin de c ~:por:ts. rcs ull:lndo la
humcdnd, la temperatura m:hr.ima y las horas de sol, los plrmctros m ~s: stgnificatl vos patn
1:1. llll)Orh. de los taxooe..li. Pin.a!mente, s(' Jropooc n los modelos: d e \'&ui ac in inl r:'\di uln:l
rara IM tiKls de espons mis frceucnrcs en l.:r atmsrera de la ciudad
PALABRAS C.:LAVE aerobiul()g(a, acrornicologia, invierno, San ti~go. NO Es(t:!lil .

INTRODUCfiON >h ytopathogen ic and cl inic al inl c rest.

Accnrding lo the World Heallh Orgnnization,
Aerobiological studies enable us to allergic rhinilis is an illncss thal afiects 5-25%
ascenain thc conccnlralion of fungal spores ofthe inhabitams of developcd counlrics and
rn the atmosphere and thcir application is of its prevalence is on the increase the world

65
A ira eral.
over. This innammatory cond ition of the
upper respi ratory t ract is caused by a
hypersensitivity reaclion triggered in the na-
sal mucus and. in many cases, it is rclated to
thc prcsence of the poli en of diffcrem plants
and fungal spores ( COSENTINO & PAL~IM,
1996). Respiratory allergies caused by fungi
may affcct more than 30% of the allergic
human population.
Thc prescnce of fungal spores in the
atmosphere is common in nll arcas around the
planct, although therc are largcqualitavcand
quantitalive differcnces according to the time
of year and the geographicnl area (fL\LWAGJ,
1994). Thc most frcqucnt conidialtypes include
Cladosporium and Alremaria, which are both
cosmopolitan and highly allergenic (C\ItETrA,
1992; PREZ el al., 1992).
In Galicia (Spain), most of the aerobio-
logical studies that ha ve been systematically
carried out by the R.l.i\.G. (Galician Acrobio-
logical Research Network) ha ve focussed on
atmosphcric pollcn control ( M iNDEZ, 2000;
Santiago
do
66
RooRfGUEZ, 2000: DoPAW, 2001), with few
rcfcrcnces to the mycobiota. being mainly
applicd lo thc prevention of crop plagues
(DIAZ, 1999) or rmttinccounting ofthc most
frcquent genera (Do~IINGUEZ MARtO, 1997;
Atw & LA-SERNA. 1999; DoP,\ZOer ni., 2002).
This paper presents for thc li11>t time, in the
case ofGalicia. the toral counr of fungal spores
identifiablc by their morphological
charncteristic< undcr onoptic mic rmet~x:. The
study was carried out in the winrer (Dcccmber
21st, 1997 to March 21st. 1998), since this is
thc pcriod nf grcatcsl divcr.;ity.
MATERIALAND1\1ETHODS
The city of Santiago de Compostela
(Fig. l) is situated in the northwestern corner
of thc lberian Peninsula and from a
biogeographical point o vicw, is includcd 1n
the Atlantic Provmce of the Euro-Siberian
Region, having a maritime-temperate climntc
nf high humidity and frcqucnt prccipitations
in the winter months.
Polen

Thc samples were collected with a llirst
1ype tr:tp, Lanzoni VPPS-2000 model, situated
mthe south campus of thc Univcrsily of San
tingo de Compostela :11 aheight of27 mabo ve
ground leve! and processed following the
mcthodology proposcd by ihc Spanish
Acrobiology Network (lh.W.GUEZ et al., J991).
Thc spores were identified using
diffcrent analytical kcys and studies (ELIJS,
J971,1976;0.,');1S. I978; N~.I983;ARx.
1987; D<NfsGl;cz SANTANA, 1992; Do~ifNGUCZ
SA~TANA & LA-SERNA, 1998), as wcll as rdc
rencc pintes.
In arder to determine the correlations
betll'een sporc conccntrations and meteoro-
logical parameters we apphed Spc.m nnn's test
using ihe Stmistica cornputer programmc. \Ve
also studied the intro-diumal represcntation
of the most abundan! spores (Copriuus,
Clmlosporium and Aspcrgillus-Peuici/lium )
by following thc proposals of diffcrent
authors (GALN er al. , 1991; DoMfNGUI'J.
S.IN I'ANA & LA-SERNA, 1998), wh ich resulted
inthree modcls. The fir>t modcl (Modcll in
Figure 6) involved calculating thc average
of c:1ch spore type, always using as the
denommator thc total number of d~ys of thc
study's duration (91 days). We then sclcctcd
thc dry days on which ihe concentration of
the corrcsponding sporc h~d a daily value
cqual to or higherthan the satd average. Thc
valuc rcprcsented each hour on the graph
corresponds to thc sum of thc v~lues oftllDI
hour expressed as a percentage of the sporc
typc's total during the selected days.
Thc sccond and third models (Models 2
and 3 in fotgure 6) take into account al! of the
data of the study period. regardless of
whe1her precipitation was rccorded or 1101. and
in bothcases pcrcentage grapll rcprcscntation
was eh osen 10 make them comparable 10 thc
\0/. 12 (2003)
Fuugal spores in Santiago of Compostela
fi rst modc!. In the second model (2), the
graphically cxprcsscd valuc corrcsponds to
thc sum of the hourly values. while in the
third modcl (3) it corresponds to the average
of each hour. Tln: said average was calculutcd
by dividing the su m of the average of each
hour by the number of days on which the
corresponding spurc was prcscnt, thereby
ubtainin ~ an ideal day. In thb case. therefore,
the deno;;,inator was different for each taxon
nnd each hour.
RESULTS
During the study period we recorded a
total of 35.987 spores corresponding to 47
morphologicaltypcs (Tab. 1), among which
Cladosporium, Copriuus and Aspergil/us-
l' enicil/ium are the most abundan! (Fig. 2 ).
Ofthe 2enera idcntificd,S wcrcclassificd as
allcrgc~ic, 15 areofphytopathogenic interest
and 12 share both charncteristics (CARETIA,
!992;PREZeta/., 1992, amungnthcrs). Thc
rcprcscntation or spores conside red as a
whole varied throughout the study pcriod
(Fig. 3), with thc maximum v:tlucs bcing
conccntrated in the lirst fortnight of January
and secondary peaks at the beginni ng or
Februarv and theend ofMarch. Therunning
avcrag; obtained with valucs of 5 days
shows a gradual incrcnsc in thc concentration
of spores at thc cnd of 1997, wh ich pcaked
:tt the bcgi nning of 1998. In rel:nion to thc
monthly distribution, January was the month
with the ~reates t conccntration, with 15. 111
spores, f; llowed by Fcbruary with practically
half ofthis value.
The mctcornlugictl data was provided
by the Univcrsity of Santiago 's Aslfonomical
Obscrvatory, si tuated in thc su rroundings
of the palien trap. During thc study pe riod,
10~11 precipit.1tion of521 mm was rccurdcd, wiih
67
Aim er al.

)
FUNGAL SPORES N da)1S Max. Day Sporcslm
Allcmaria 38 11 28-1-98 82
Ar1hri11ium 7 2 25-XII-97 8
A~cobolus 3 2 20-1-98 4
Afpergiilt~sPenicillium 84 141 4-11-98 3234
Bipolaris 24 6 10-1-98 40
Borrytis 9 4 61-98 16
Cercos(JOra 1 2 4-1-98 2
Cerebel/a 5 2 24-11-98 7
Cilo etoconis 1 10 18-11-98 10
Cl!aetomirun 25 13 17-111-98 56
C/adosporium dadosporioides 90 97 11-111-98 2281
C/adosporirmrlrerbantm 91 476 27-XII-97 4050
CoprimiS 90 814 31-1-98 797 1
Crln~tfa,-ia 12 2 28-XII-97 14
Delitscllia 1 3 11-98 3
Dreclrslera 14 2 23-1-98 17
Exerollilwu 17 2 31-98 21
Fusarium 33 6 5111-98 70
Fusicladium 3 2 24-1-98 4
Gliomaslix 6 1 30-XIl-97 6
Helicoma 1 1 11-11-98 1
Helicomyces 20 5 Bl-98 32
luoryb' 2 3 21 -XII-97 4
Leprosplweria 57 20 26-XII97 245
LoJ!riosluma 63 21 21-11-98 180
L.ywgala 4 6 1-1-98 9
Mas.sarhra 50 10 28-XII-97 131
Melan omma 8 3 1-1-98 13
Monodictys 7 6 811-98 16
Myxomyceles 36 20 7-1 11-98 133
Nigrospora 18 15 3-1-98 43
O idium 3 4 23-X11 -97 9
Paraplweosplwe ria 54 13 29-XIl-97 152
Periconia 9 11 2 1-1198 40
Peronospora 18 7 13-1198 31
Pesraloriopsis 23 13 16-1-98 45
Pirhomycrs 12 5 1-1-98 23
Pleospora 66 36 2 1-1198 285
Polylhrrcirtm 19 9 20-1198 41
P.-.eudocercospora 3 1 25-XII-97 3
s, ,., ,.;,,. , ,..;,.,., -" 1 O.T nJI .o
Stemplrylium 8 9 101-98 16
Fetrap loa 2 1 26-1-98 2
Tontla 69 19 10-1-98 269
Ven turia 36 6 16-1-98 84
Xvla riaceae 5 2 28X11-97 6

T ABLE 1. Fungal spores identified.

68 Pole11
.....
adaily averngcof5.7 mm(Fig.4). Thcavcragc
hum idity was 78% and the avernge tempernture
of thc avcrages was II"C. The average value
of hours of sunshinc during thc wintcr pcriod
was 4 hours 24 minutes (Fig. 5).
Thc correlalions with the main meteo-
rological paramctcrs {rainfall , humidity,
temperature and hours of sunshine) were
calculatcd with all the spore types that
cxceeded values of 70 sporcslm3 during thc
study period, as well as for the genere
Ciado.rporium (Ciatlosporium clrdosp o
rioides + C/(1(/osporium herbnnm:) and for
total spores (Tab. 2). taking into account
the total of the data obtained during the
study period. The meteomlogical paramctcr
that innuenced the greatest number of spore
typcs was humidity, followed by maximum
temperature and hours of sunshinc. Thcsc
thrcc fac tors explain a high percentage of
variability in the data of many taxa and of
total idcntified spores. No significan!
corrclations for Airemaria, Clado.rporium
herbarwn, Lophiostoma and lvlyxomycercs
wcrc found w i~t any of the said factors .
C:lado.rporium
Ccprinus
J()<l,
FIGURE 2. Most abundant fungal spores.
\lo/. 12 (2003)
Fw:gnl sporcs in Snnliago of Compostela
Precipitation was positive :md hours of
sunshine ncgativc with a high significancc
(99%) for four spore types (Leprosp!:aeria,
Mn=rilln. Paraplraecsplme1ia :md \'emurin).
as well as for total spo rcs. Humidity and
maximurn temperaturc werc highly significam
(99%) for five spore types (Cinllasporitm:
clndosporioides, LcJiosplweria, Parap!:a
eoJp!raeria, 7orula and Vemuria), with this
last genus producing a highly significant
correl:uion with all of thc mctcorological
par:uneters except average tcmpcrarure.
In relation to intra-diurnal variation (Fig.
6), there are no largc diffcrcnccs among thc
three models represented, especially thc
ones in which thc overall data of the srudy
penad was takcn into account G-!odcls 2 and
3), without excludmg the days of rainfal l.
Thc resuhs obtaincd show that Ciados
porium cladasporioides spores, in lhe wimer
period. were mure abundant during the cen-
tral hours of the da y (from l l a m to 6 pm) ,
witha maximum at 6 pm and sccondary pet~ks
during the mnming. Fu~ ocm10rc, tlte innection
32%
A'f>ergiJ!uo;.
flCI Iici!/;um
16%
69
Aira el al.

:sporeslnl
I OCQr---------------------------------------------1~
1400 - Mobtk 3\'Cr.lgc ... 1400
1200 1200
1000 1000
800 800
GOO r r.oo
400 400
200 200
o

FI GURE J . Daily fungal spores conceot raton.

mm 'C

FIGURE 4. Rainfall and temperatura values.

Ho1.1ts

tO 80

60

lO
2
o~,~~~wwH~~.-~.~~~,

bnuary Febm:uy Man:h

FIGURE 5. Humidity and sunshine values.

70 Pol ell
 Fwrgal spore.< in Samiago of Compostela

points coincide in the three models, being DISCUSSION

situated between the maximums. The Ciado.s
pori11m herbanmr sporcs nrc more reprcscntcd
between 1pmand IOpm.inadditiontoapcak
at l am. Overall. both spore typeshaveagreater
rcpnesemation towards thccnd oflhe morning
and thc beginning of the aftemoon, with thcir
maximum valueat6pm.
The Aspergtlllls!Penici/lium group
shows an irregular distribution curve
throughout the day. with three intervals of
greater abundance, between 4 pm and Gpm.
helween 11 am and 1 pm and hetwcen 1 pm
and 11 pm. Finally, Coprintts spores. with a
very homogcncous rcprescntation in the
three models, are clearly more abundant from
2 am to 8 am and from 8 pm to midnight.
Numerous authors point out that the
atmospheric conccntration of fungal spores is
grcaterduring the spring and summer (GALN
etal.,l998; BLsTOs ettrl., 2001), being related
itr some cases to thc te mperature increasc
(E.'1HEJ<LIN et al., 1995).1n this regard, previous
studies carriecl out in Santiago de Compostela
(Do~ti~GUEZ MAI<t;:o, 1997) have also shown
that the main period of spore collection took
place from June to September. although the
greatest variation takcs place in thc wintcr
pcrio<l(HERREROe/a/., 1996).
Differe nl Spanish cities have re poned a
higher concentr:ttion of spores of l-epros
plraeria, Vetrturia, Fusariwtr and Usrilago

Ft.::-IGAL Sl'ORF.S Rainfall llurni!lity T' mnx. Tnn. Tmoo. Sunshine

A!IC11illria +0. 107 -0.084 +.090 "-0.078 +0.099 0.1 57
A<pergi/lr~;PI!IIicillium 0.076 0.148 +{).021 0.2 14** 0.017 +0. 145
OnosptJrIUII ciad +l,.rb. -Q.OOl 0.171* +.246* +0. 1().1 +0.226** +0. 126
OndlllpOriiUII clodmpor. 0.022 0.278 ... +{).283 +0.133 +0.283 +0.117.
Qadosporituu htrbanmr +0.050 0.03 1 +0.139 +0.074 +0.126 +0.018
Copriwts +0.206** +0. 188. 0.261 +0.041 0.137 0.215
Fusarittm 0.223 0.198" -Hl.315 +0.140 +0.320 +0.208
ILpto<pllil.ria +.518 ... +{).397 .0.362 +0. 164 0.153 0.517 ...
Wplii0!/00111 -0.139 .O.OH .0.005 -0. 145 -0.076 +0.082
Mnsmrillll +0.336 ... +0.353 . .. .0.239** +0.304 0.023 -0.2?4
\fixomyceres +.012 +0.027 .O.O<9 +0.(}.15 0.005 -0.064
P11rap/uwosp/zaerin -Hl.395 +0.416''' .0.344 +0.254 0.061 0.428
Pleo,pora -Hl.286 ... +0.030 .0.012 +0.305 +0. 172 0.216**
Toru/a 0.153 0.50 1... +0.445 +0.052 +0.3-15 ... ...0.275
Urtdmporru -0.().16 0.257"' +0.133 +0.050 +0. 133 -0.116
Ventrria +0.437*.. +0.475 ... 0.255 *** +0.308 +0.007 -0.452
T()(al sporcs +0.395 +0.277 0.253** +0.163 0.092 0.332
TASLE 2. Corro1ations betwoen spora concentration and metereological parameters. Signillcance
lovels: , 90%; ... 95%; '", 99%.

Vol. 12 (2003) 71
Aim er al.

14 . - - - - - -- - - - - --
Clndnsporium c/ad~l.\poro irles

1 2 3 4 5 G 7 3 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hours
12 . - - - - - -- - - - -- ----,
Cln dmpnrir~m herba nm
10

1 2 3 4 56 7 & 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 222324
Hows

12 . - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - ,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10 JI 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Hour;
FIGURE 6. lntra-diurnal variation, = Model 1, - Model 2, - Model 3.

72 Polen
 Fu11gal spure> in Santiugu of Compos/ela

(DAZ etal .. !99S) during the winter, as well as
of Copri11us in auiUmn and of Aspcrgillus-
Pellicil;wll during February (DoMf~GUEZ
SM'T~~-. 1992).
Ofthe47 types of fungal spores idcntifled
in this SL11dy, Copri nace:~c basidiosporcs,
~>hich represem40%oftota1Ldemificd spores,
and thc Aspcrgil/us-Penicillium group ( 16'1)
stand out bccausc of thcir abundancc and
allcrgenic imponance (GRGGO~Y & Hil!l>T, 1952;
L~II Rf:R & HORNCR. 1990). Many Coprinaceae
stand()lltdue to their high produclion capacity.
such as Coprinu.r comar11.<, which cm iL~ 2.6 x
10' spores perday. and dueto 1heirh1gh degree
of wind dispersion (Lt vE'r!N, 1990); in some
cities thcy are thc sccnnd-most a bundan!
typc after 1he Deuteromycolina with a repre-
sentation of 32% in u1ban-residemial areas
and 28% in urban-busincss areas (C111.UE
RN eral .. 1995).
The Aspcrgillu s-Pcnicillium group
includes spo rcs thm are d iffi cult to separale

12,-------------------------------------,
Aspergillus-Pt ll;ci!lium

o
t 2 3 6 7 S 9 tO 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
~

10
Coprimu

~ D.;(~
t~ 'l
n[
1
o
1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 101 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 2 1 22::.3 24
Hom

FIGURE 6. (Conl.}. lnUadiurnal varla lion, = Model l, - - Mcdel2, - - Model3.

101. 12 (2003) 73
Aira el al.
by means of optical microscopy, since
acrobiological samples frequently contain
small conidia (2 to 7 microns) -rathcr than
conidiophorcs- of prnvcn allcrgenic capacity
(PAL'IAS eral .. l991).
The most important sporcs, from both
clinical and pathogenic point of view, included
those of Cladosporiwu (32% of total spores)
andAiremmia (Esc\MIU-' el al., 1995; C.~.t,\N
clal .. l991;Go:-rlAtJ:7.ei al., l994).
Alte maria is cxli'Cmcly abundan! in dry
andarid ureas, where daily maximums ofupto
6,000 sporcslm' may be recordcd (C ARf.TIA,
1992), although in Santiago the quantitics
identified during thc wimcr were beloll' tho;c
cited by other author< as clinically signific.mt
(FADOAC/a/.,1990).
ln relat.ion to the innuence of meteoro
logical parameters. in our study, humidity,
maximum tcmpcrature and hours of sunshine,
in addition to prccipitation, explain a high
percentage of data variability, including total
spores as a whole. The positive correlation of
rainfall with total spores and specifically with
those of Copriuus, may be explained in the
caseof most basidiomycctcs by their need for
water in the substrarum in ondcr to develop
their carpophores and release their spores
( H ASNAtN , 1993; CALDERN el al. 1995).
Numcrou.~ authors have cited the negative
correlation of C/adosporitllll with humidity "nd
its positive correlation with temperaturc
(HASNAIN, 1993; i\tRAUDl & Fllll'ELLO. 1996;
HtlRRERO et al ., 1996; MtTATAKIS el al., 1997)
observed in our study, dcspite the fact that
high temperature and humidily prior to spore
dissemination seem to !'avour the at:mosphcnc
dispersion of such spores (MED~\\'ILLA et al.,
1998). The majority of identified t.ua were
positively corrclatcd with rainfall, with the
dispersion oftheir sporcs thcrcforc taking pla
74
ce at thcnnset of rainfall or directly thcreaftcr,
which is notthc case of Fusarium, as pointed
out byWAHL& KB<srn<(l991).
With regard to imradiurnal variation.the
results obtained for Copri11us basically agree
with thoseof CAUlERN l!l ttl. (1995). since a
lowcr representation in the central hours of
thc day is obscrved in both cases. Con,crscly,
Cladosporium spores are more abundan!
towards 1hc cnd ofthe morning and during the
early homs ofthc aftemoon, with !he maximum
value being recordcd al 6 pm (DoMINGUEZ
MARtO, 1997), while in othcr Spanish cities
thc maximums are attained betwccn midnight
2 pm and in La Laguna-Tenerifc (Do.\llNGllt;7,
SANTANA & LA-SCRNA. 1998) thcy vary
according to thc year understudy (betll'een 11
am-4 pm in 1988 and at 11 pm in 1990). We
found sorne diffcrcnces with regard to other
authors. who cite a highcr representa!ion of
Clatlosporium c/adosporiotdes in thc
aftcrnoon-evening and of C/adospori11m
lterlxmtm between 1pm3 pm(M EDLWILLA er
a/., 1998), whilc in Sanago there is a secondary
maximum al 10 pm. Such differences may be
explained by thc difcrcnt climatology charac-
terizing both cities, the dumtion of the study
period and the dtfferent spccies idcntilicd in
both cases. The Aspergillus/Pemcillium
group shows an irregular distribution curve
during the day. with intervals of greater abun
dance prcviously pointed out inotllerlostudies
(I)Q:.rl~cuEZ S.-~'~'" & LA-Sr>lt, A, 1998).
CONCLUSIONS
Aerobiological sampling carried out in
SantiagoofCompostela from Dccember 1997
to March 1998, includc importan! potential
allergens andlor phytopathogcn> fungal
spores, such as Coprim1s, Aspergillus-Peui
cillitun, C/adosporium. Pleospora, Pamphn
eosphaerin and uprospltaeria.
Poleu

The maximum value of the IOL11spores
w~ sr.:cordcd on January and the minimum
on March, bcing thc humidity, maximum
temperaiUre and hours of sunshme the most
significan! paramcters in their atmospheric
dispersion.
With regard lo inlra-diumal vanation.
spore~ of Coprimts basically showed a lowcr
rcprcsentation in the central hours of thc day.
Cladospori11m spores are more ~bundam
to"ards thc cnd ofthc morning and the fi rst
hours or the aflernoon, while thc group
Aswrgillus!Pellicillium shows an irregular
dislribution curve.
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