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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Structure and Function of the Microbiota in Domestic Environments
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Structure and Function of the Microbiota in Domestic Environments

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 24120

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Markus Egert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Precision Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Life Sciences, Furtwangen University, Jakob-Kienzle-Str. 17, 78054 Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Interests: human microbiome; built environment microbiome; hygiene; microbial ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In industrialized countries, people spend up to 90% of their life time indoors, including domestic environments. The domestic environment is characterized by very fluctuating environmental conditions and sharp physicochemical gradients, which significantly shape the structure (community composition) and function (physiology) of the resident microbiomes. An important role of the domestic microbiome for human health and well-being is anticipated, but far from being fully understood.

Clearly, the domestic environment is a place where infections frequently occur and infection chains need to be controlled and broken by antimicrobial hygiene measures. In contrast, a depletion of microbial diversity in the built and domestic environment is supposed to contribute to an increasing prevalence of allergy and asthma in industrialized countries. Moreover, the unreasonable use of antimicrobial and disinfecting agents for household cleaning might select for resistant and extremophilic species. Probably, a successful management of the domestic microbiome for the sake of human health will require a well-balanced mixture of antimicrobial and “probiotic” measures.

The aim of this special issue is to increase and collect knowledge about the composition and functionality of the microbiome of domestic environments as well as smart microbiome management strategies to sustain and increase human health and well-being in the domestic environment.

Prof. Dr. Markus Egert
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • built environment microbiome
  • household hygiene
  • hygiene hypothesis
  • cleaning
  • probiotic cleaning
  • objects of daily use
  • health
  • antimicrobials
  • infection chain
  • malodor

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1810 KiB  
Article
Metatranscriptomic Analysis of Bacterial Communities on Laundered Textiles: A Pilot Case Study
by Susanne Jacksch, Christoph König, Dominik Kaiser, Mirko Weide, Stefan Ratering, Sylvia Schnell and Markus Egert
Microorganisms 2021, 9(8), 1591; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9081591 - 26 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9596
Abstract
Microbially contaminated washing machines and mild laundering conditions facilitate the survival and growth of microorganisms on laundry, promoting undesired side effects such as malodor formation. Clearly, a deeper understanding of the functionality and hygienic relevance of the laundry microbiota necessitates the analysis of [...] Read more.
Microbially contaminated washing machines and mild laundering conditions facilitate the survival and growth of microorganisms on laundry, promoting undesired side effects such as malodor formation. Clearly, a deeper understanding of the functionality and hygienic relevance of the laundry microbiota necessitates the analysis of the microbial gene expression on textiles after washing, which—to the best of our knowledge—has not been performed before. In this pilot case study, we used single-end RNA sequencing to generate de novo transcriptomes of the bacterial communities remaining on polyester and cotton fabrics washed in a domestic washing machine in mild conditions and subsequently incubated under moist conditions for 72 h. Two common de novo transcriptome assemblers were used. The final assemblies included 22,321 Trinity isoforms and 12,600 Spades isoforms. A large part of these isoforms could be assigned to the SwissProt database, and was further categorized into “molecular function”, “biological process” and “cellular component” using Gene Ontology (GO) terms. In addition, differential gene expression was used to show the difference in the pairwise comparison of the two tissue types. When comparing the assemblies generated with the two assemblers, the annotation results were relatively similar. However, there were clear differences between the de novo assemblies regarding differential gene expression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Function of the Microbiota in Domestic Environments)
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16 pages, 1369 KiB  
Article
Smells Like Teen Spirit—A Model to Generate Laundry-Associated Malodour In Vitro
by Marc-Kevin Zinn, Marco Singer and Dirk Bockmühl
Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 974; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9050974 - 30 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3619
Abstract
Although malodour formation on textiles and in washing machines has been reported to be a very relevant problem in domestic laundry, the processes leading to bad odours have not been studied intensively. In particular, the smell often described as “wet-and-dirty-dustcloth-like malodour” had not [...] Read more.
Although malodour formation on textiles and in washing machines has been reported to be a very relevant problem in domestic laundry, the processes leading to bad odours have not been studied intensively. In particular, the smell often described as “wet-and-dirty-dustcloth-like malodour” had not been reproduced previously. We developed a lab model based on a bacterial mixture of Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus hominis, and Corynebacterium jeikeium, which can produce this odour type and which might allow the detailed investigation of this problem and the development of counteractions. The model uses bacterial strains that have been isolated from malodourous textiles. We could also show that the three volatile compounds dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, and indole contribute considerably to the “wet-fabric-like” malodour. These substances were not only found to be formed in the malodour model but have already been identified in the literature as relevant malodourous substances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Function of the Microbiota in Domestic Environments)
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10 pages, 568 KiB  
Communication
Cultivation-Based Quantification and Identification of Bacteria at Two Hygienic Key Sides of Domestic Washing Machines
by Susanne Jacksch, Huzefa Zohra, Mirko Weide, Sylvia Schnell and Markus Egert
Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9050905 - 23 Apr 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5388
Abstract
Detergent drawer and door seal represent important sites for microbial life in domestic washing machines. Interestingly, quantitative data on the microbial contamination of these sites is scarce. Here, 10 domestic washing machines were swab-sampled for subsequent bacterial cultivation at four different sampling sites: [...] Read more.
Detergent drawer and door seal represent important sites for microbial life in domestic washing machines. Interestingly, quantitative data on the microbial contamination of these sites is scarce. Here, 10 domestic washing machines were swab-sampled for subsequent bacterial cultivation at four different sampling sites: detergent drawer and detergent drawer chamber, as well as the top and bottom part of the rubber door seal. The average bacterial load over all washing machines and sites was 2.1 ± 1.0 × 104 CFU cm−2 (average number of colony forming units ± standard error of the mean (SEM)). The top part of the door seal showed the lowest contamination (11.1 ± 9.2 × 101 CFU cm−2), probably due to less humidity. Out of 212 isolates, 178 (84%) were identified on the genus level, and 118 (56%) on the species level using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) Biotyping, resulting in 29 genera and 40 identified species across all machines. The predominant bacterial genera were Staphylococcus and Micrococcus, which were found at all sites. 22 out of 40 species were classified as opportunistic pathogens, emphasizing the need for regular cleaning of the investigated sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Function of the Microbiota in Domestic Environments)
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Other

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12 pages, 943 KiB  
Perspective
Pathogen Control in the Built Environment: A Probiotic-Based System as a Remedy for the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance
by Maria D’Accolti, Irene Soffritti, Francesca Bini, Eleonora Mazziga, Sante Mazzacane and Elisabetta Caselli
Microorganisms 2022, 10(2), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020225 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4774
Abstract
The high and sometimes inappropriate use of disinfectants and antibiotics has led to alarming levels of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and to high water and hearth pollution, which today represent major threats for public health. Furthermore, the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has deeply influenced our [...] Read more.
The high and sometimes inappropriate use of disinfectants and antibiotics has led to alarming levels of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and to high water and hearth pollution, which today represent major threats for public health. Furthermore, the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has deeply influenced our sanitization habits, imposing the massive use of chemical disinfectants potentially exacerbating both concerns. Moreover, super-sanitation can profoundly influence the environmental microbiome, potentially resulting counterproductive when trying to stably eliminate pathogens. Instead, environmentally friendly procedures based on microbiome balance principles, similar to what applied to living organisms, may be more effective, and probiotic-based eco-friendly sanitation has been consistently reported to provide stable reduction of both pathogens and AMR in treated-environments, compared to chemical disinfectants. Here, we summarize the results of the studies performed in healthcare settings, suggesting that such an approach may be applied successfully also to non-healthcare environments, including the domestic ones, based on its effectiveness, safety, and negligible environmental impact. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Function of the Microbiota in Domestic Environments)
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