United States: New studies reveal microbes in cities have developed ways to fight the cleaning products we employ to neutralize them.
It also reveals new strains native to Hong Kong that were hitherto found only in Antarctic desert soil.
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Since the recent pandemic, there has been enhanced use of disinfectants in cities, yet are the endeavors to make cities bacteria-free having unintended consequences?
In a paper in Microbiome, new strains of microbes that have evolved to opportunistically scavenge for nutrients in urban settings and original research demonstrating that human behavior is altering the microorganisms inside buildings have been described.
According to Dr. Xinzhao Tong, an assistant professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), China, who is also the lead author of the study, “Built environments offer distinct conditions that set them apart from natural and engineered habitats,” phys.org reported.
“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 described.
How did experts reach a conclusion?
The samples were taken from various built environments, from subways to residences and public facilities, piers, and human skin in Hong Kong, and a total of 738 samples were collected.
They then employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing to capture the total microbial DNA and Assess how these microbes have evolved to survive in unfavorable cities.
The team found that there are 363 hitherto unknown microbial strains that are symbiotic with the skin and its adjacent tissues.
In some of these strains’ genomes, the researchers identified genes that allow the organisms to break down manufactured products in cities and use them for their carbon and energy needs.
This includes the identification of a strain in Candidatus phylum Eremiobacterota that had been isolated only from Antarctic desert soil.
As Dr. Tong explained, “The genome of this novel strain of Eremiobacterota enables it to metabolize 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,” phys.org reported.
“Microbes possessing enhanced capabilities to utilize 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,” Tong continued.