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Abstract: Monitoring airborne inoculum of pathogens is important for plant disease surveillance. Here, we evaluate spider webs as passive environmental DNA (eDNA) samplers for detecting the pathogenic fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, the causal agent of ash dieback, in a forest environment. In a temperate mixed forest, we compared two types of spider webs (orb and sheet webs) with a conventional passive sampler (filter paper) over matched day (orb) and week (sheet) deployments. Laboratory validation confirmed that webs exposed to airborne spores from apothecia yield positive qPCR signals. Across seven field sampling campaigns, both a species‑specific qPCR (Hfrax) and a broad fungal assay (FQ) detected fungal eDNA on spider webs more reliably and at higher relative quantities than on filter paper. In daily and weekly pairs, orb and sheet web vs filters, the median ΔCq (filter − web) was above 4 for both qPCR assays (Wilcoxon paired, p < 0.05), which corresponds to more than a 10-fold difference in the amount of target DNA. This study provides proof of concept for using spider webs as scalable, low-cost tools suitable for targeted (qPCR) surveillance to complement aerobiological networks.
Keywords: airborne eDNA, ash dieback, forest pathogens, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, passive sampling, qPCR, spider webs, forest health
Published in DiRROS: 03.06.2026; Views: 236; Downloads: 164
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Keywords: virologija, rastlinski virusi, mutacije, raziskovalni projekti
Published in DiRROS: 15.05.2026; Views: 264; Downloads: 170
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Keywords: WCLaV-1, WCLaV-2, watermelon, viruses, diagnostics
Published in DiRROS: 02.04.2026; Views: 313; Downloads: 409
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Keywords: Karst cave waters, high-throughput sequencing, viruses, archaea, bacteria, fungi, protozoa
Published in DiRROS: 24.03.2026; Views: 321; Downloads: 386
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Abstract: Groundwater is the most important source of drinking water supply, irrigation, and industrial use, as well as a habitat for a diverse range of (micro)organisms. Some of the first studies of underground environments were carried out in the Dinaric Karst region of Slovenia, which harbors one of the highest subterranean biodiversities in the world. Despite their ecological importance, groundwater microbial communities remain underexplored. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive microbiome analysis of karst groundwater, investigating the abundance and diversity of viruses, archaea, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. We detected a high diversity of both prokaryote- and eukaryote-infecting viruses, indicating the connection of subterranean environments with surface waters. In the archaeal community, seven different phyla were identified, dominated by members of "Candidatus Woesearchaeota" and Nitrososphaerota (syn. Thermoproteota). In the bacterial community of majority of the samples, the Pseudomonadota was the most abundant phylum, followed by Bacteroidota, Actinomycetota, and Verrucomicrobiota. Fungal abundance and diversity differed greatly between cave water samples, with the Ascomycota families Cladosporiaceae, Didymellaceae, Aspergillaceae and saprotrophic Basidiomycota detected in all samples. Besides fungi, microscopic eukaryotic diversity consisted of ciliates, copepods and golden-brown algae present in all samples. Differences in microbial communities between the sampling sites highlight the need for tailored site-specific groundwater conservation and monitoring strategies. Moreover, the identification of microbes associated with anthropogenic activities underscores their potential as source-specific indicators of groundwater pollution. As the first holistic overview of microbial diversity of subterranean water, the study establishes a valuable baseline for future research and conservation of these unique karst ecosystems.
Keywords: Karst cave water, high-throughput sequencing, viruses, archaea, bacteria, fungi, protozoa
Published in DiRROS: 02.03.2026; Views: 457; Downloads: 346
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