Microbiology of the built environment

Abstract

The built environment comprises all structures built by humans, including our homes, workplaces, schools and vehicles. As in any ecosystem on Earth, microorganisms have been found in every part of the built environment that has been studied. They exist in the air, on surfaces and on building materials, usually dispersed by humans, animals and outdoor sources. Those microbial communities and their metabolites have been implied to cause (or exacerbate) and prevent (or mitigate) human disease. In this Review, we outline the history of the field of microbiology of the built environment and discuss recent insights that have been gained into microbial ecology, adaptation and evolution of this ecosystem. Finally, we consider the implications of this research, specifically, how it is changing the types of materials we use in buildings and how our built environments affect human health.

Building upon current knowledge and techniques of indoor microbiology to construct the next era of theory into microorganisms, health, and the built environment

“…Overall, our understanding and our views of the relationships we have with microorganisms are evolving [20,31,202,245]. What remains is the ability to know why, when, and how microorganisms transfer from the built environment to occupants, when these interactions matter, under what circumstances these transfers lead to disease, and when these interactions are beneficial to built environment occupants [33].…”

“…Microorganisms can be found in every environment, including built environments-our habitat of buildings, roads, vehicles, and other human-associated spaces-and even in ultra-clean rooms and space stations [28]. Collectively, these factors mold the built environment's microbiome [29][30][31]-all the genetic material of the microbial members present, from which can be derived taxonomic identification and metabolic potential, including activities like nutrient utilization and antimicrobial production [30,32]. The indoor microbial community is a blend of microorganisms sourced from various ecosystems which seed each particular built environment.…”

“…The majority of interest in microbiology of the built environment has focused on microbially-mediated building deterioration or detriment to occupant health from specific microorganisms of interest. Despite advances in awareness of the potential for microbial exposure indoors [33], microorganisms in the built environment are still considered as debris to be removed, instead of members of a microbial ecosystem which is inexorably linked to the influences of building inhabitants [29,31,[34][35][36][37]. Given the propensity for microbial biofilms or overgrowth to pose a threat to the health of occupants, it is not difficult to understand why.…”

“…Despite these successes, the logistical difficulty of finding the transmission of a microbial needle in a dust haystack remains a barrier to understanding how microorganisms in buildings affect human health. A great deal of discussion has centered around the development of low-cost, real-time microbial sensing capabilities in buildings [31,233], which would track total biomass, or detect certain species or antigens, and interface with building automation services to alter operations.…”

Microbial ecology of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, hatcheries: impacts of the built environment on fish mucosal microbiota

“…Gut microbiomes of Atlantic salmon is primarily driven by the life stage rather than environment (24, 25) in the wild which has been hypothesized to be due to changes in diet along with increased consumption of water during the marine stage (26). The hatchery built environment is a unique microbial habitat which has largely remained unexplored (27, 28). Understanding the relationship between the built environment of the hatchery along with the mucosal microbiome of the fish may be important for predicting fish health.…”