This dissertation investigates the anthropogenic influences on the airborne microbial populations in Slovenian show caves and a speleotherapeutic cave, emphasizing the ecological implications of cave tourism and speleotherapy. Aerosols in caves provide insights into atmospheric conditions and human-induced changes. As part of the study, air samples were taken from Postojnska jama, Škocjanske jame and Bolnišnična jama Sežana before and after the presence of humans to assess the impact on airborne microbial communities. Methods such as culture-dependent techniques, flow cytometry, β-D-glucan detection and shotgun metagenomics were used. Results showed that human activity increased airborne microbial concentrations in ⡤ 91.7% of cases, with seasonal variation in β-D-glucan and CO2 concentrations. No primary pathogens were detected in either cave, only opportunistic species such as Aspergillus spp., Paecilomyces spp. and Alternaria spp. among the fungi and Staphylococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. among the bacteria. The study emphasises the effectiveness of natural and artificial ventilation in reducing the microbial load. MALDI-TOF MS showed higher accuracy in the microbial identification, especially at the genus level, compared to the OmniLog ID system and identified human-associated microbes as indicators of cave anthropisation. The predominant prokaryotic phyla identified were Actinomycetota, Bacillota and Pseudomonadota, which was confirmed by both culture-based and metagenomics-based approaches. The metagenomics-based approach revealed greater species diversity and detected about 100 times more taxa than conventional culture-based methods, emphasising the importance of using multiple methods for a comprehensive analysis. Micrococcus luteus, Kocuria rosea, Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus capitis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mitis complex and Moraxella spp. were identified as reliable indicators of cave anthropisation. The metagenomics-based approach also identified Cutibacterium acnes, a core member of the human skin microbiota that is difficult to cultivate under standard laboratory conditions, as an additional indicator organism.
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