Smartphones as an Ecological Niche of Microorganisms: Microbial Activities, Assembly, and Opportunistic Pathogens.

ABSTRACT: Smartphone usage and contact frequency are unprecedentedly high in this era, and they affect humans mentally and physically. However, the characteristics of the microorganisms associated with smartphones and smartphone hygiene habits remain unclear. In this study, using various culture-independent techniques, including high-throughput sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), the ATP bioluminescence system, and electron microscopy, we investigated the structure, assembly, quantity, and dynamic metabolic activity of the bacterial community on smartphone surfaces and the user's dominant and nondominant hands. We found that smartphone microbiotas are more similar to the nondominant hand microbiotas than the dominant hand microbiotas and show significantly decreased phylogenetic divers

SUBMITTER: He J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9603676 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature