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Microbiome

Horve, P.F., Lloyd, S., et al. 2020. “Building upon current knowledge and techniques of indoor microbiology to construct the next era of theory into microorganisms, health, and the built environment.” J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2020 Mar;30(2):219-235.

In the constructed habitat in which we spend up to 90% of our time, architectural design influences occupants’ behavioral patterns, interactions with objects, surfaces, rituals, the outside environment, and each other. Within this built environment, human behavior and building design contribute to the accrual and dispersal of microorganisms; it is a collection of fomites that […]

Tang, J.W. and Li, Y. 2019. “The airborne microbiome – implications for aerosol transmission and infection control.” BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:755

Many infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, whooping cough, Aspergillus and other fungal infections, human and avian influenza, measles, chickenpox, and some of the emerging viruses, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can be potentially spread through aerosol transmission. With the advent of deep-sequencing technologies these can be applied to environmental air samples using metagenomic techniques to characterise the presence and variety of […]

Integrative HMP (iHMP) Research Network Consortium. “The Integrative Human Microbiome Project.” Nature, 569 (2019), pp. 641-648

The NIH Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has been carried out over ten years and two phases to provide resources, methods, and discoveries that link interactions between humans and their microbiomes to health-related outcomes. The recently completed second phase, the Integrative Human Microbiome Project, comprised studies of dynamic changes in the microbiome and host under three […]

Morawska, L., Ayoko, G.A., et al. 2017. “Airborne particles in indoor environment of homes, schools, offices and aged care facilities: The main routes of exposure.” Environ Int. 2017 Nov; 108:75-83.

It has been shown that the exposure to airborne particulate matter is one of the most significant environmental risks people face. Since indoor environment is where people spend the majority of time, in order to protect against this risk, the origin of the particles needs to be understood: do they come from indoor, outdoor sources […]

Stephens, Brent. 2016. “What Have We Learned about the Microbiomes of Indoor Environments?” mSystems Jul 2016, 1 (4) e00083-16

The advent and application of high-throughput molecular techniques for analyzing microbial communities in the indoor environment have led to illuminating findings and are beginning to change the way we think about human health in relation to the built environment. Here I review recent studies on the microbiology of the built environment, organize their findings into […]

Prussin, A.J., Marr, L.C., 2015. “Sources of airborne microorganisms in the built environment.” Microbiome 3, 78 (2015).

Each day people are exposed to millions of bioaerosols, including whole microorganisms, which can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. The next chapter in understanding the airborne microbiome of the built environment is characterizing the various sources of airborne microorganisms and the relative contribution of each. We have identified the following eight major categories of […]

Hoisington, A.J., Brenner, L.A., Kinney, K.A. et al. 2015. “The microbiome of the built environment and mental health.” Microbiome 3, 60 (2015).

The microbiome of the built environment (MoBE) is a relatively new area of study. While some knowledge has been gained regarding impacts of the MoBE on the human microbiome and disease vulnerability, there is little knowledge of the impacts of the MoBE on mental health. Depending on the specific microbial species involved, the transfer of […]

Meadow, J.F., Altrichter, A.E., et al. 2015. “Humans differ in their personal microbial cloud.” PeerJ. 2015 Sep 22;3:e1258.

Dispersal of microbes between humans and the built environment can occur through direct contact with surfaces or through airborne release; the latter mechanism remains poorly understood. Humans emit upwards of 10(6) biological particles per hour, and have long been known to transmit pathogens to other individuals and to indoor surfaces. However it has not previously […]