Influence of housing characteristics on bacterial and fungal communities in homes of asthmatic children.

ABSTRACT: Variations in home characteristics, such as moisture and occupancy, affect indoor microbial ecology as well as human exposure to microorganisms. Our objective was to determine how indoor bacterial and fungal community structure and diversity are associated with the broader home environment and its occupants. Next-generation DNA sequencing was used to describe fungal and bacterial communities in house dust sampled from 198 homes of asthmatic children in southern New England. Housing characteristics included number of people/children, level of urbanization, single/multifamily home, reported mold, reported water leaks, air conditioning (AC) use, and presence of pets. Both fungal and bacterial community structures were non-random and demonstrated species segregation (C-score, P < 0.00001). Inc

SUBMITTER: Dannemiller KC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4591094 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature