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Satari L, Iglesias A, Porcar M. The Microbiome of Things: Appliances, Machines, and Devices Hosting Artificial Niche-Adapted Microbial Communities. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1507. [PMID: 37375009 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11061507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
As it is the case with natural substrates, artificial surfaces of man-made devices are home to a myriad of microbial species. Artificial products are not necessarily characterized by human-associated microbiomes; instead, they can present original microbial populations shaped by specific environmental-often extreme-selection pressures. This review provides a detailed insight into the microbial ecology of a range of artificial devices, machines, and appliances, which we argue are specific microbial niches that do not necessarily fit in the "build environment" microbiome definition. Instead, we propose here the Microbiome of Things (MoT) concept analogous to the Internet of Things (IoT) because we believe it may be useful to shed light on human-made, but not necessarily human-related, unexplored microbial niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Satari
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de València-CSIC, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Alba Iglesias
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de València-CSIC, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Manuel Porcar
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), Universitat de València-CSIC, 46980 Paterna, Spain
- Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence SL., Parc Científic, Universitat de València, 46980 Paterna, Spain
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Chen Y, Li X, Gao W, Zhang Y, Mo A, Jiang J, He D. Microfiber-loaded bacterial community in indoor fallout and air-conditioner filter dust. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:159211. [PMID: 36206901 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Microfibers (MFs) are widely existed in indoor air; however, characteristic of microbiota on MFs is largely unknown. In this study, air-borne MFs were collected from fallout or air-conditioner (AC) filter dust in three types of indoor space including living room, dormitory and office. Both plastic and natural MFs were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Ultramicroscopic observation showed dense biofilms adhering on surfaces of MFs. Fallout MFs contained more bacteria but fewer fungi than MFs from AC filter dust. MFs-loaded bacteria were of highest abundance in living rooms, following dormitories and offices. Bacterial community and its diversity were further analyzed by 16S rRNA High-throughput sequencing. Up to 4540 of bacterium OTUs were shared in these MFs samples, unique OTUs in fallout and AC filter samples accounting for 26.3 % and 25.7 % of the total. Compared to MFs fallout, AC filter MFs contained more species of pathogenic bacteria, such as Betaproteobacteriales and Ralstonia, with obviously different β-diversity between two groups. Phenotypic analysis showed that fallout and AC filter MFs bacteria presented high index values of film formation, oxidative stress tolerance and potential pathogenicity. Overall, these results suggest that abundant bacteria including pathogen can be loaded on MFs, and would pose health risks through delivery of indoor MFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingxin Chen
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xinyu Li
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Wei Gao
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic Solid Waste, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yalin Zhang
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Aoyun Mo
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Jie Jiang
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic Solid Waste, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Defu He
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic Solid Waste, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Technology Innovation Center for Land Spatial Eco-restoration in Metropolitan Area, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shanghai 200062, China.
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Gu Y, Zhong K, Cao R, Yang Z. Aqueous lithium chloride solution as a non-toxic bactericidal and fungicidal disinfectant for air-conditioning systems: Efficacy and mechanism. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 212:113112. [PMID: 35346655 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Airborne pathogenic bacteria and fungi transmitted through air-conditioning (AC) systems have been identified as a major public health risk. Air scrubbing is a promising liquid-based air disinfection technique that captures and inactivates airborne pathogens in liquid disinfectants. However, owing to the drawbacks of irritating odor and toxicity, the commonly-used chemical disinfectants cannot be employed for AC systems. This study aimed to unveil the inactivation performance and mechanism of non-toxic and chemically stable aqueous lithium chloride (LiCl) solution-the popular liquid desiccant in the AC systems-as a user-friendly disinfectant. Four prominent airborne pathogenic bacteria and fungi were exposed to the LiCl solution under various conditions. The inactivation effects were quantified with fluorescence-staining-based confocal microscopy and verified with the pathogens' membrane integrity variations, intracellular substance leakage, and morphological changes. Results showed that LiCl solution was remarkably efficient in inactivating the pathogens within 60 min, with an efficacy of 35.2-96.2%. The solution's inactivation ability was promoted by increasing the temperatures and concentrations; however, it appeared insensitive to exposure time over 30 min. We then explored the inactivation mechanism of LiCl solution by assessing cellular protein leakages and compared the inactivation rates with those of NaCl solution. The extracellular protein increased by over 470% after being exposed to LiCl solution. The inactivation rate was also considerably higher than in NaCl solution under the same osmotic pressure (24.79 MPa). We suggest that apart from osmotic pressure, the inactivation is reinforced by Li+-specific properties, including its strong water attraction that deprived the solvation shells of microbial protein and caused protein denaturation. We propose that aqueous LiCl solution may act as a user-friendly disinfectant for air-scrubbing due to its attractive characteristics, including its non-toxicity, odorless nature, and chemical stability. These findings may open up a "green" way to disinfect airborne pathogens and safeguard public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqian Gu
- Department of Civil Engineering, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, 2999, North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, China
| | - Ke Zhong
- Department of Civil Engineering, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, 2999, North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, China
| | - Rong Cao
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Zili Yang
- Department of Civil Engineering, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Donghua University, 201620, 2999, North Renmin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, China.
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Mycotoxin Illness: Recognition and Management from Functional Medicine Perspective. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 2022; 33:647-663. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pmr.2022.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Inactivation of airborne microbial contaminants by a heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system. JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING 2022; 50:104157. [PMCID: PMC8813195 DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increasing interest in controlling airborne virus transmission during the operation of air-conditioning systems. Therefore, beyond an examination of the ability of liquid-desiccant material itself to inactivate microbes, a heat-pump-driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system was proposed and constructed to experimentally investigate the effect of liquid-desiccant solution on the inactivation of airborne bacteria and fungi in various air-conditioning processes. The proposed system comprises a liquid-desiccant unit to dehumidify or humidify process air using a desiccant-solution and heat-pump unit to cool or heat it and accommodate solution thermal loads. The decrease in the concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi before and after passing through the system (i.e., inactivation efficiency) were compared for the base, summer, and winter operating modes. The results indicated that airborne fungi were less inactivated than bacteria because they possess more stress-resistant cellular structures that resist inactivation. During the air-conditioning processes in both the summer and winter operating modes, the bacterial and fungal inactivation efficiencies improved compared to the base mode owing to the contact with desiccant solution. The higher solution flow rate and solution temperature improved the bacterial inactivation efficiency by 27% for the winter compared to the summer mode. Conversely, because of possible growth of fungi in the heated and humidified supply air in the winter, the fungal inactivation efficiency improved by only 1.5% for the winter compared to the summer mode. In conclusion, the proposed system can contribute to control the airborne transmission of microbial contaminants while operating air-conditioning systems.
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Schwartz-Narbonne H, Abbatt JPD, DeCarlo PF, Farmer DK, Mattila JM, Wang C, Donaldson DJ, Siegel JA. Modeling the Removal of Water-Soluble Trace Gases from Indoor Air via Air Conditioner Condensate. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:10987-10993. [PMID: 34342979 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c02053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Water-soluble trace gas (WSTG) loss from indoor air via air conditioning (AC) units has been observed in several studies, but these results have been difficult to generalize. In the present study, we designed a box model that can be used to investigate and estimate WSTG removal due to partitioning to AC coil condensate. We compared the model output to measurements of a suite of organic acids cycling in an indoor environment and tested the model by varying the input AC parameters. These tests showed that WSTG loss via AC cycling is influenced by Henry's law constant of the compound in question, which is controlled by air and water temperatures and the condensate pH. Air conditioning unit specifications also impact WSTG loss through variations in the sensible heat ratio, the effective recirculation rate of air through the unit, and the timing of coil and fan operation. These findings have significant implications for indoor modeling. To accurately model the fate of indoor WSTGs, researchers must either measure or otherwise account for these unique environmental and operational characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan P D Abbatt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3H6
| | - Peter F DeCarlo
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Delphine K Farmer
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - James M Mattila
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, United States
| | - Chen Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3H6
| | - D James Donaldson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3H6
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
| | - Jeffrey A Siegel
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A4
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 3M7
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Sheu R, Fortenberry CF, Walker MJ, Eftekhari A, Stönner C, Bakker A, Peccia J, Williams J, Morrison GC, Williams BJ, Gentner DR. Evaluating Indoor Air Chemical Diversity, Indoor-to-Outdoor Emissions, and Surface Reservoirs Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:10255-10267. [PMID: 34270218 PMCID: PMC8461992 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Detailed offline speciation of gas- and particle-phase organic compounds was conducted using gas/liquid chromatography with traditional and high-resolution mass spectrometers in a hybrid targeted/nontargeted analysis. Observations were focused on an unoccupied home and were compared to two other indoor sites. Observed gas-phase organic compounds span the volatile to semivolatile range, while functionalized organic aerosols extend from intermediate volatility to ultra-low volatility, including a mix of oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur-containing species. Total gas-phase abundances of hydrocarbon and oxygenated gas-phase complex mixtures were elevated indoors and strongly correlated in the unoccupied home. While gas-phase concentrations of individual compounds generally decreased slightly with greater ventilation, their elevated ratios relative to controlled emissions of tracer species suggest that the dilution of gas-phase concentrations increases off-gassing from surfaces and other indoor reservoirs, with volatility-dependent responses to dynamically changing environmental factors. Indoor-outdoor emissions of gas-phase intermediate-volatility/semivolatile organic hydrocarbons from the unoccupied home averaged 6-11 mg h-1, doubling with ventilation. While the largest single-compound emissions observed were furfural (61-275 mg h-1) and acetic acid, observations spanned a wide range of individual volatile chemical products (e.g., terpenoids, glycol ethers, phthalates, other oxygenates), highlighting the abundance of long-lived reservoirs resulting from prior indoor use or materials, and their gradual transport outdoors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Sheu
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | - Claire F Fortenberry
- Department of Energy, Environmental, & Chemical Engineering and Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Michael J Walker
- Department of Energy, Environmental, & Chemical Engineering and Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Azin Eftekhari
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515, United States
| | - Christof Stönner
- Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Alexa Bakker
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | - Jordan Peccia
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | - Jonathan Williams
- Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany
| | - Glenn C Morrison
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515, United States
| | - Brent J Williams
- Department of Energy, Environmental, & Chemical Engineering and Center for Aerosol Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Drew R Gentner
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
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