Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Normal airway microbial communities play a central role in respiratory health but are poorly characterized. Cigarette smoking is the dominant global environmental influence on lung function, and asthma has become the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide. Both conditions have major microbial components that are incompletely defined.

Methods

We investigated airway bacterial communities in a general population sample of 529 Australian adults. Posterior oropharyngeal swabs were analyzed by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The microbiota were characterized according to their prevalence, abundance and network memberships.

Findings

The microbiota were similar across the general population, and were strongly organized into co-abundance networks. Smo

SUBMITTER: Turek EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8387768 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature