Urbanization Reduces Transfer of Diverse Environmental Microbiota Indoors.

ABSTRACT: Expanding urbanization is a major factor behind rapidly declining biodiversity. It has been proposed that in urbanized societies, the rarity of contact with diverse environmental microbiota negatively impacts immune function and ultimately increases the risk for allergies and other immune-mediated disorders. Surprisingly, the basic assumption that urbanization reduces exposure to environmental microbiota and its transfer indoors has rarely been examined. We investigated if the land use type around Finnish homes affects the diversity, richness, and abundance of bacterial communities indoors. Debris deposited on standardized doormats was collected in 30 rural and 26 urban households in and near the city of Lahti, Finland, in August 2015. Debris was weighed, bacterial community composition de

SUBMITTER: Parajuli A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5808279 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature