Metagenomic profiling of airborne microbial communities from aircraft filters and face masks.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Airborne microbial communities, although often challenging to study due to low biomass, play crucial roles in public health and pathogen transmission. Through shotgun metagenomics, this study utilizes non-invasive air sampling of face masks and aircraft cabin filters to investigate microbial diversity in environments with frequent human interactions, including hospitals and airplanes. A comprehensive sampling and analysis workflow was developed, incorporating environmental and enrichment protocols to enhance microbial DNA recovery and diversity profiling.

Results

Despite limitations in biomass, optimized extraction methods allowed for the successful identification of 407 species, with dominant taxa including Cutibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Sphingo

SUBMITTER: Jeilu O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12676802 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature