Abstract
Cultivation-based microbiological methods are a gold standard for monitoring of airborne micro-organisms to determine the occupational exposure levels or transmission paths of a particular infectious agent. Some highly contagious microorganisms are not easily culturable but it is becoming evident that cultivation and molecular methods are complementary and in these cases highly relevant. We report a simple and efficient method for sampling and analyzing airborne bacteria with an impactor-type high-flow-rate portable air sampler, currently used for monitoring culturable bacteria or fungi. A method is reported for extraction of nucleic acids from impacted cells without prior cultivation and using agarose as a sampling matrix. The DNA extraction efficiency was determined in spiked samples and, samples taken from a wastewater treatment plant and an alpine area. The abundance, diversity and quantity of total bacteria were analysed by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and by construction and analysis of clone libraries. The method does not interfere with downstream PCR analysis and can cover the gap between traditional culture and molecular techniques of bioaerosol monitoring.