Characterization of communal sink drain communities of a university campus

Withey, Zoe; Goodall, Tim; MacIntyre, Sheila; Gweon, Hyun S.

doi:10.1002/edn3.196

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 84 publications

(116 reference statements)

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“…This finding is in agreement with the concept of a personalised microbial cloud that mediates the transfer to surfaces 47 . In particular, we identified the skin microbiome as a major contributor to this cloud (~40%), even in areas close to the toilet, as has been shown in previous studies 29 , 30 , 46 , 48 . Although we observed substantial variation among the microbial communities in the ten households, ~30% of the overall microbial community detected on bathroom floors consisted of microbiomes from faecal, vaginal and urinary origins.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

The sanitary indoor environment—a potential source for intact human-associated anaerobes

Pausan

Blohs

Mahnert

et al. 2022

npj Biofilms Microbiomes

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A healthy human microbiome relies on the interaction with and exchange of microbes that takes place between the human body and its environment. People in high-income countries spend most of their time indoors and for this reason, the built environment (BE) might represent a potent source of commensal microbes. Anaerobic microbes are of particular interest, as researchers have not yet sufficiently clarified how the human microbiome acquires oxygen-sensitive microbes. We sampled the bathrooms in ten households and used propidium monoazide (PMA) to assess the viability of the collected prokaryotes. We compared the microbiome profiles based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and confirmed our results by genetic and cultivation-based analyses. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that most of the microbial taxa in the BE samples are human-associated. Less than 25% of the prokaryotic signatures originate from intact cells, indicating that aerobic and stress resistant taxa display an apparent survival advantage. However, we also confirmed the presence of intact, strictly anaerobic taxa on bathroom floors, including methanogenic archaea. As methanogens are regarded as highly sensitive to aerobic conditions, oxygen-tolerance experiments were performed with human-associated isolates to validate their survival. These results show that human-associated methanogens can survive oxic conditions for at least 6 h. We collected strong evidence that supports the hypothesis that obligate anaerobic taxa can survive in the BE for a limited amount of time. This suggests that the BE serves as a potential source of anaerobic human commensals.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

The sanitary indoor environment—a potential source for intact human-associated anaerobes

Pausan

Blohs

Mahnert

et al. 2022

npj Biofilms Microbiomes

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“…Previous studies have shown that there was no difference in bacterial and fungal communities between male and female restroom floor surfaces (Fouquier et al, 2016; Gibbons et al, 2015). It is also worth mentioning that this was the case for bacterial communities in P‐traps (Withey et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…A total of 412 samples were collected. The methods for collecting P-trap samples were the same as described in Withey et al, 2021. Briefly, sterile cotton swabs were inserted using a sampling rod into the P-Traps and circumference of pipe swabbed for 5 s. Swabs were stored in 1.5 ml tubes in a freezer at −20°C until required for DNA extraction. Metadata was recorded on each of the swabs collected (Table S1).…”

Section: Sample Collection and Dna Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycobial community assemblages in sink drains across a university campus

et al. 2022

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Multiple fungal species, including potential opportunistic pathogens have been previously identified in water systems. Here, we investigated over 250 restroom sink fungal communities across a university campus and evaluated their diversity and core taxa present. Remarkable similarity in mycobial community composition was observed across buildings with Ascomycota consistently dominating. We found a core mycobiome independent of the building sampled, that included Exophiala species, potential opportunistic pathogenic black yeasts. Other prevalent and dominant taxa included Saccharomyces and Fusarium, common built environment fungi. The frequent presence of Malassezia, a common skin commensal, showed the external influence of human activities as a source of fungi to sinks. The study represents a novel exploration of sink P‐traps mycobial communities from a public area and highlights their importance as reservoirs of possible pathogenic fungi, as well as emphasizing the relevance of further research in this understudied ecosystem within the built environment.

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“…Furthermore, staff counters are always dry while patient sinks are always moist because of frequent use from patients and their visitors. Hence, they harbour a more diverse bacterial community compared to staff counters [24]. At the genus level, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Acinetobacter dominated both counter surfaced and patient sinks, while Pseudomonas only dominated the patient sinks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the Microbiome and Antibiotic Resistance Genes from Hospital Environmental Surfaces: A Prime Source of Antimicrobial Resistance

Hanafiah,

Sukri,

Yusoff

et al. 2024

Antibiotics

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Hospital environmental surfaces are potential reservoirs for transmitting hospital-associated pathogens. This study aimed to profile microbiomes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from hospital environmental surfaces using 16S rRNA amplicon and metagenomic sequencing at a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia. Samples were collected from patient sinks and healthcare staff counters at surgery and orthopaedic wards. The samples’ DNA were subjected to 16S rRNA amplicon and shotgun sequencing to identify bacterial taxonomic profiles, antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factor pathways. The bacterial richness was more diverse in the samples collected from patient sinks than those collected from staff counters. Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia dominated at the phylum level, while Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Acinetobacter dominated at the genus level. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus were prevalent on sinks while Bacillus cereus dominated the counter samples. The highest counts of ARGs to beta-lactam were detected, followed by ARGs against fosfomycin and cephalosporin. We report the detection of mcr-10.1 that confers resistance to colistin at a hospital setting in Malaysia. The virulence gene pathways that aid in antibiotic resistance gene transfer between bacteria were identified. Environmental surfaces serve as potential reservoirs for nosocomial infections and require mitigation strategies to control the spread of antibiotic resistance bacteria.

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Characterization of communal sink drain communities of a university campus

Cited by 10 publications

References 84 publications

The sanitary indoor environment—a potential source for intact human-associated anaerobes

The sanitary indoor environment—a potential source for intact human-associated anaerobes

Mycobial community assemblages in sink drains across a university campus

Insights into the Microbiome and Antibiotic Resistance Genes from Hospital Environmental Surfaces: A Prime Source of Antimicrobial Resistance

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