Global Spore Sampling Project: A global, standardized dataset of airborne fungal DNA
Authors: Ovaskainen Otso , Abrego Nerea , Furneaux Brendan , Hardwick Bess , Somervuo Panu , Palorinne Isabella , Andrew Nigel R. , Babiy Ulyana V. , Bao Tan , Bazzano Gisela , Bondarchuk Svetlana N. , Bonebrake Timothy C. , Brennan Georgina L. , Bret-Harte Syndonia , Bässler Claus , Cagnolo Luciano , Cameron Erin K. , Chapurlat Elodie , Creer Simon , D’Acqui Luigi P. , de Vere Natasha , Desprez-Loustau Marie-Laure , Dongmo Michel A. K. , Dyrholm Jacobsen Ida B. , Fisher Brian L. , Flores de Jesus Miguel , Gilbert Gregory S. , Griffith Gareth W. , Gritsuk Anna A. , Gross Andrin , Grudd Håkan , Halme Panu , Hanna Rachid , Hansen Jannik , Hansen Lars Holst , Hegbe Apollon D. M. T. , Hill Sarah , Hogg Ian D. , Hultman Jenni , Hyde Kevin D. , Hynson Nicole A. , Ivanova Natalia , Karisto Petteri , Kerdraon Deirdre , Knorre Anastasia , Krisai-Greilhuber Irmgard , Kurhinen Juri , Kuzmina Masha , Lecomte Nicolas , Lecomte Erin , Loaiza Viviana , Lundin Erik , Meire Alexander , Mešić Armin , Miettinen Otto , Monkhause Norman , Mortimer Peter , Müller Jörg , Nilsson R. Henrik , Nonti Puani Yannick C. , Nordén Jenni , Nordén Björn , Paz Claudia , Pellikka Petri , Pereira Danilo , Petch Geoff , Pitkänen Juha-Matti , Popa Flavius , Potter Caitlin , Purhonen Jenna , Pätsi Sanna , Rafiq Abdullah , Raharinjanahary Dimby , Rakos Niklas , Rathnayaka Achala R. , Raundrup Katrine , Rebriev Yury A. , Rikkinen Jouko , Rogers Hanna M. K. , Rogovsky Andrey , Rozhkov Yuri , Runnel Kadri , Saarto Annika , Savchenko Anton , Schlegel Markus , Schmidt Niels Martin , Seibold Sebastian , Skjøth Carsten , Stengel Elisa , Sutyrina Svetlana V. , Syvänperä Ilkka , Tedersoo Leho , Timm Jebidiah , Tipton Laura , Toju Hirokazu , Uscka-Perzanowska Maria , van der Bank Michelle , Herman van der Bank F. , Vandenbrink Bryan , Ventura Stefano , Vignisson Solvi R. , Wang Xiaoyang , Weisser Wolfgang W. , Wijesinghe Subodini N. , Joseph Wright S. , Yang Chunyan , Yorou Nourou S. , Young Amanda , Yu Douglas W. , Zakharov Evgeny V. , Hebert Paul D. N. , Roslin Tomas 
Published: May 2024

Novel methods for sampling and characterizing biodiversity hold great promise for re-evaluating patterns of life across the planet. The sampling of airborne spores with a cyclone sampler, and the sequencing of their DNA, have been suggested as an efficient and well-calibrated tool for surveying fungal diversity across various environments. Here we present data originating from the Global Spore Sampling Project, comprising 2,768 samples collected during two years at 47 outdoor locations across the world. Each sample represents fungal DNA extracted from 24 m3 of air. We applied a conservative bioinformatics pipeline that filtered out sequences that did not show strong evidence of representing a fungal species. The pipeline yielded 27,954 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Each OTU is accompanied by a probabilistic taxonomic classification, validated through comparison with expert evaluations. To examine the potential of the data for ecological analyses, we partitioned the variation in species distributions into spatial and seasonal components, showing a strong effect of the annual mean temperature on community composition.