It appears that cities have their own distinct community of microbes that can be likened to offices within the same location. These unique microbial signatures – tiny organisms like bacteria and fungi crawling in rooms, buildings, and nearly all places possible – could help map better human health as a crucial consideration when constructing and designing homes.
A team from Northern Arizona University collected microbial samples in San Diego, Toronto and Flagstaff in Arizona – selected for their diverse climate conditions. Employing gene sequencing, they discovered that each city had its own microbial signature, with samples from offices in the same city emerging similar to one another more than those in other cities would.
These microbial connections, according to the authors, can help experts incorporate healthier microbiomes when building homes and commercial spaces.
"[We can] possibly including routine monitoring of microbial communities to track changes that may impact human health, our results will help inform future research efforts," said author Dr. J. Gregory Caporaso, a biological sciences professor.
In the U.S., humans spend more than 90 percent of their time in these built environments, including homes, offices, hospitals, and even cars. According to the researchers, the innumerable bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa residing in water and the air, on surfaces, and within heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems shape one's susceptibility to allergy and infection.
The growth of mold in damp ventilation systems, for instance, is believed to irritate the eyes, nose, skin, and throats, and even potentially impede lung capacity.
The microbial community in public restrooms, for instance, continues to pique scientists' interest. In a study that took microbial samples from four restrooms at San Diego State University, the researchers detected genetic traces of more than 77,000 distinct kinds of bacteria and viruses, with the staph bacteria as a set of live bacteria having such overwhelming presence.
These pathogens, including the bugs found inside the body, are found in all human settings and continue to thrive. This reality points to the need to crowd them out with a healthy community of good microbes, which are unfortunately wiped out by the excess and unnecessary use of antibiotics.
The new research is thought to control variables, and suggests that geography mostly drives bacterial communities. These complex ecosystems – each city's cloud of microbial dust – can be useful in creating healthier environments where people spend most of their days.
Photo: Reyner Media | Flickr
