New research shows microbes are evolving to resist
cleaners used to eliminate them. It also identifies novel strains
living in Hong Kong that were
previously only found in Antarctic desert soil.
SUZHOU, China, Oct. 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- After the recent pandemic,
our use of disinfectants has increased, but are our efforts to
create sterile urban environments backfiring?
A new study published in the journal Microbiome has
identified novel strains of microbes that have adapted to use the
limited resources available in cities and shown that our everyday
behaviour is changing the makeup of microorganisms in indoor
environments.
"Built environments offer distinct conditions that set them
apart from natural and engineered habitats," says Dr Xinzhao
Tong, an assistant professor at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China, and lead author of the study.
"Areas with many buildings are low in the traditional nutrients
and essential resources microbes need for survival, so these built
environments have a unique microbiome.
"Our use of cleaning and other manufactured products creates a
unique setting that puts selective pressures on microbes, which
they must adapt to or be eliminated, but the mechanisms by which
microbes adapt and survive in built environments are poorly
understood," Dr Tong explains.
The researchers collected 738 samples from a variety of built
environments, including subways, residences, public facilities,
piers and human skin in Hong Kong.
They then used shotgun metagenomic sequencing to analyse the
microbes' genomic content and understand how they have adapted to
the challenging urban conditions.
The team identified 363 microbial strains that have not been
previously identified that live on our skin and the environment
around us. Some of these strains' genomes contained genes for
metabolising manufactured products found in cities and using them
as carbon and energy sources. This includes the discovery of a
strain of Candidatus phylum Eremiobacterota, previously only
reported in Antarctic desert soil.
Dr Tong says: "The genome of this novel strain of
Eremiobacterota enables it to metabolise ammonium ions found in
cleaning products. The strain also has genes for alcohol and
aldehyde dehydrogenases to break down residual alcohol found in
common disinfectants.
"Microbes possessing enhanced capabilities to utilise limited
resources and tolerate manufactured products, such as disinfectants
and metals, out-compete non-resistant strains, enhancing their
survival and even evolution within built environments. They could,
therefore, pose health risks if they are pathogenic."
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