Seasonal and Site-Specific Patterns of Airborne Fungal Diversity Revealed Using Passive Spore Traps and High-Throughput DNA Sequencing

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript is clear and well-written, cites the relevant literature, uses tables and figures appropriately, and the conclusions are supported by the data. Some minor corrections are required (below).

problem in page numbering

fig 1 : On the figure it seems that the forest type is more similar between 1 and 2 than between 2 and 3. However in the text it is writen the opposite. It would be good to check

I would have appreciated more information about the filters. The spores are just deposited on the filters not trapped

bioinformatics : the authors have chosen 98% without giving additional information

Table 1 : H diversity is not defined

The line "number of sequences" is difficult to read
In the commentary of the table no information on precipitation or temperature should we understand that the data are similar for each site

Author Response

Reviewer 1

Problem in page numbering.

Response: Updated

Fig 1: On the figure it seems that the forest type is more similar between 1 and 2 than between 2 and 3. However in the text it is written the opposite. It would be good to check.

Response: The map presented in Figure 1 shows the general distribution of tree species in the territory of Lithuania, but the text describes the vegetation specific to study sites (within a radius of 200 m). The large scale used in the map does not allow to convey visual information otherwise.

I would have appreciated more information about the filters. The spores are just deposited on the filters not trapped.

Response: More information was included. Trapped was changed to deposited.

bioinformatics: the authors have chosen 98% without giving additional information.

Response: Additional information was included

Table 1: H diversity is not defined.

Response:  It is now defined the title of the table.

The line "number of sequences" is difficult to read
In the commentary of the table no information on precipitation or temperature should we understand that the data are similar for each site.

Response: The table presents the data on the temperature and precipitation of each study site and time point.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors

The presented work concerns an interesting topic related to the seasonal and site-specific patterns of airborne fungal diversity revealed using passive spore traps and high-throughput DNA sequencing. In my opinion, Authors did a massive work (which is appreciated). The structure of the reviewed manuscript is correct. All chapters (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions) were properly presented. The conclusions were correctly formulated. The research methodology was thoroughly described. The results presented in the manuscript are interesting and they can be of help to whoever is interested in this field (the quality of the presentation of the results is high).

I think that Figure 5 could be improved to make it more readable (percentages) - maybe make it a little bigger?

I also think that the article could be re-checked in terms of language.
 

In other cases, I have no more critical comments and I believe that the article can be published in Diversity.

Author Response

I think that Figure 5 could be improved to make it more readable (percentages) - maybe make it a little bigger?

Response: Changed as suggested.

I also think that the article could be re-checked in terms of language.

Response: Language was checked.

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors present a relevant research paper entitle “Seasonal and site-specific patterns of airborne fungal diversity 1 revealed using passive spore traps and high-throughput DNA sequencing”. The paper is well developed , the used methods are correct and the obtained results are innovative. However, some details must be clarified or corrected to increase the impact of the obtained results. My recommendation is accept the paper after minor revision.

 

As a major concern is focused in the relevance of the results, to highlight why scientific community may read this paper. Due to the obtained result are not related with crops the paper should moves one step forward of a simple description.

 

Title: Due to the period of this study is only one year the term “Seasonal” and “site specific” may be replace by more real descriptive terms. As a recommendation,  the title may be shortened.

 

Some minor typographical errors may be revised. i.e. page 4 line 82: The first appearance scientific names must appear complete. The rest may appear abbreviated.

 

Figure 1: should be possible to include arrows with the prevailing winds directions?

 

Table 2: what exactly means “Unidentified sp. XX”?

 

Figure 6 : this figure must be replaced or include a better explanation.

 

Discussion:

In your opinion, is one year enough to obtain representative conclusions? Include it in the discussion.

 

It is well done that precipitation affect spore deposition, is it relevant in your study?

 

Is it only a descriptive paper or it is relevant in virulence or disease appearance?. Highlight the impact and the relevance of your study, is it relevant from the agriculture point of view ?

Author Response

Title: Due to the period of this study is only one year the term “Seasonal” and “site specific” may be replaced by more real descriptive terms. As a recommendation, the title may be shortened.

 

Response: By “seasonal”, we mean different seasons of one year (winter, spring, summer and autumn), which is also described in the manuscript. Regarding “site specific”, the study includes three different sites, which are compared among each other. We consider that the title is appropriate and would like to keep it intact.

 

Some minor typographical errors may be revised. i.e. page 4 line 82: The first appearance scientific names must appear complete. The rest may appear abbreviated.

Response: Checked and updated.

 

Figure 1: should be possible to include arrows with the prevailing winds directions?

 

Response: We only have the data of the maximum wind speed and direction at that time, but without the exact date, so we think that they will not give any added value to the manuscript.

 

Table 2: what exactly means “Unidentified sp. XX”?

 

Response: The bioinformatics section contains an explanation: “Fungal taxa were taxonomically identified using GenBank (NCBI) database and the Blastn algorithm. The criteria used for identification were sequence coverage > 80%, similarity to taxon level 98–100%, and similarity to genus level 94–97%. Sequences not matching these criteria were considered unidentified and were given unique names.”

 

Figure 6: this figure must be replaced or include a better explanation.

 

Response: The figure caption was updated to provide a better explanation.

 

Discussion:

In your opinion, is one year enough to obtain representative conclusions? Include it in the discussion.

 

Response: The following was included. Although the study revealed that time of the year (season) influences airborne fungal communities, the results should be interpreted with caution as long-term observations are needed to infer possible tendences.  Nevertheless, certain seasonal regularities in airborne fungal communities may persist in different years, while observed variations may depend on environmental conditions of the area [85].

 

It is well done that precipitation affects spore deposition, is it relevant in your study?

 

Response: Yes, we consider that it is relevant.

 

Is it only a descriptive paper or it is relevant in virulence or disease appearance? Highlight the impact and the relevance of your study, is it relevant from the agriculture point of view?

 

Response: the following was included in the discussion. “Early detection of native and invasive pathogens and identification of changes in their abundance is an important component of forest biosecurity. Since dispersal by air is one of the main mechanisms for many fungal species to spread and reach new susceptible hosts, spore monitoring enables effective tracking of airborne fungal communities and predicting the risk of new disease outbreaks in agriculture and forestry.” 

“Our study demonstrated that airborne fungal communities are influenced by a complex of abiotic and biotic factors”.