Indoor airborne microbiome and endotoxin: meteorological events and occupant characteristics are important determinantsDepartment of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Medical Sciences: Respiratory, Allergy, Sleep Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Medical Sciences: Clinical Physiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Tartu University Hospital, Lung Clinic, Tartu, Estonia.
Department of Medical Sciences: Clinical Physiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Section for Microbiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine.
Department of Medical Sciences, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Public Health, Environment, Work and Health, Danish Ramazzini Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Centre for International Health, University of Bergen Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Department of Public Health, Environment, Work and Health, Danish Ramazzini Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Show others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Environmental Science and Technology, ISSN 0013-936X, E-ISSN 1520-5851, Vol. 57, no 32, p. 11750-11766Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Airborne bacteria and endotoxin may affect asthma and allergies. However, there is limited understanding of the environmental determinants that influence them. This study investigated the airborne microbiomes in the homes of 1038 participants from five cities in Northern Europe: Aarhus, Bergen, Reykjavik, Tartu, and Uppsala. Airborne dust particles were sampled with electrostatic dust fall collectors (EDCs) from the participants' bedrooms. The dust washed from the EDCs' clothes was used to extract DNA and endotoxin. The DNA extracts were used for quantitative polymerase chain (qPCR) measurement and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while endotoxin was measured using the kinetic chromogenic limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. The results showed that households in Tartu and Aarhus had a higher bacterial load and diversity than those in Bergen and Reykjavik, possibly due to elevated concentrations of outdoor bacterial taxa associated with low precipitation and high wind speeds. Bergen-Tartu had the highest difference (ANOSIM R = 0.203) in β diversity. Multivariate regression models showed that α diversity indices and bacterial and endotoxin loads were positively associated with the occupants' age, number of occupants, cleaning frequency, presence of dogs, and age of the house. Further studies are needed to understand how meteorological factors influence the indoor bacterial community in light of climate change.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Chemical Society (ACS), 2023. Vol. 57, no 32, p. 11750-11766
Keywords [en]
16S rRNA and occupants' age, airborne microbiome, meteorological data, Northern Europe
National Category
Microbiology in the medical area
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-213404DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c01616ISI: 001040469100001PubMedID: 37523308Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85167815288OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-213404DiVA, id: diva2:1795511
Funder
EU, Horizon 2020, 804199Novo Nordisk Foundation, NNF19OC00569632023-09-082023-09-082023-09-08Bibliographically approved