Impacts of Flood Damage on Airborne Bacteria and Fungi in Homes after the 2013 Colorado Front Range Flood

Emerson, Joanne B.; Keady, Patricia B.; Brewer, Tess E.; Clements, Nicholas; Morgan, Emily E; Awerbuch, Jonathan; Miller, Shelly L.; Fierer, Noah

doi:10.1021/es503845j

Cited by 88 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…For details on the proportional abundances of these OTUs in male vs. female-occupied rooms, see Figure S1 OTU number Taxonomic Table S1) between female and male rooms. Preliminary evidence suggests that HVAC filters may represent another, relatively lowcost, option for longer-term investigations of airborne microbial communities (Emerson et al, 2015;Noris et al, 2011). Significantly different groups are labeled with an asterisk 2015a).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DNA extracted from the passive samplers was used for qPCR analyses following the method described in Emerson et al (2015) so we could also assess variation in the amounts of bacteria and fungi recovered in the air of the sampled dormitory rooms. For these analyses, we only focused on the passive samplers as it would have been difficult to extract DNA from the HVAC filters in a manner suitable for quantitative analyses of fungal and bacterial loads.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microbial analyses of airborne dust collected from dormitory rooms predict the sex of occupants

et al. 2016

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We have long known that human occupants are a major source of microbes in the built environment, thus raising the question: How much can we learn about the occupants of a building by analyzing the microbial communities found in indoor air? We investigated bacterial and fungal diversity found in airborne dust collected onto heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) air filters and settling plates from 91 rooms within a university dormitory. The sex of the room occupants had the most significant effect on the bacterial communities, while the room occupants had no significant effect on fungal communities. By examining the abundances of bacterial genera, we could predict the sex of room occupants with 79% accuracy, a finding that demonstrates the potential forensic applications of studying indoor air microbiology. We also identified which bacterial taxa were indicators of female and male rooms, and found that those taxa often identified as members of the vaginal microbiome were more common in female-occupied rooms while taxa associated with human skin or the male urogenital microbiota were more common in male-occupied rooms.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial analyses of airborne dust collected from dormitory rooms predict the sex of occupants

et al. 2016

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“…Samples were analyzed for microeukayotes and bacteria. Quantitative PCR of bacteria and fungal DNA equivalents were obtained following Emerson et al, 2015. Co-occurrence network analyses preformed on microeukaryotes and bacteria sequences were obtained within samples (N = 19).…”

Section: Developmental Transitions In Taxa and Alpha Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibitory bacteria reduce fungi on early life stages of endangered Colorado boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas)

et al. 2015

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Increasingly, host-associated microbiota are recognized to mediate pathogen establishment, providing new ecological perspectives on health and disease. Amphibian skin-associated microbiota interact with the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), but little is known about microbial turnover during host development and associations with host immune function. We surveyed skin microbiota of Colorado's endangered boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas), sampling 181 toads across four life stages (tadpoles, metamorphs, subadults and adults). Our goals were to (1) understand variation in microbial community structure among individuals and sites, (2) characterize shifts in communities during development and (3) examine the prevalence and abundance of known Bd-inhibitory bacteria. We used high-throughput 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing (Illumina MiSeq) to characterize bacteria and microeukaryotes, respectively. Life stage had the largest effect on the toad skin microbial community, and site and Bd presence also contributed. Proteobacteria dominated tadpole microbial communities, but were later replaced by Actinobacteria. Microeukaryotes on tadpoles were dominated by the classes Alveolata and Stramenopiles, while fungal groups replaced these groups after metamorphosis. Using a novel database of Bd-inhibitory bacteria, we found fewer Bd-inhibitory bacteria in post-metamorphic stages correlated with increased skin fungi, suggesting that bacteria have a strong role in early developmental stages and reduce skinassociated fungi.

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“…Non-human occupants, including dogs [3,21,22] and household insects [23], can also influence the types of microbes found inside homes. Likewise, there is evidence that the types of bacteria and fungi found inside homes can be affected by differences in ventilation, building design, the environmental characteristics found within buildings [20,22,[24][25][26][27][28] or prior water damage from flooding [29]. If we consider a home to be a microbial ecosystem, the geographical location of a home should also be important in structuring the types of bacteria or fungi found inside the home, just as geography has been known for many decades to structure plant and animal communities across and within continents [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecology of microscopic life in household dust

et al. 2015

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We spend the majority of our lives indoors; yet, we currently lack a comprehensive understanding of how the microbial communities found in homes vary across broad geographical regions and what factors are most important in shaping the types of microorganisms found inside homes. Here, we investigated the fungal and bacterial communities found in settled dust collected from inside and outside approximately 1200 homes located across the continental US, homes that represent a broad range of home designs and span many climatic zones. Indoor and outdoor dust samples harboured distinct microbial communities, but these differences were larger for bacteria than for fungi with most indoor fungi originating outside the home. Indoor fungal communities and the distribution of potential allergens varied predictably across climate and geographical regions; where you live determines what fungi live with you inside your home. By contrast, bacterial communities in indoor dust were more strongly influenced by the number and types of occupants living in the homes. In particular, the female : male ratio and whether a house had pets had a significant influence on the types of bacteria found inside our homes highlighting that who you live with determines what bacteria are found inside your home.

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Impacts of Flood Damage on Airborne Bacteria and Fungi in Homes after the 2013 Colorado Front Range Flood

Cited by 88 publications

References 65 publications

Microbial analyses of airborne dust collected from dormitory rooms predict the sex of occupants

Microbial analyses of airborne dust collected from dormitory rooms predict the sex of occupants

Inhibitory bacteria reduce fungi on early life stages of endangered Colorado boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas)

The ecology of microscopic life in household dust

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