Longitudinal analysis of microbial interaction between humans and the indoor environment

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1254529
• Publication Date: 2014-08-28T18:25:20Z
• Authors: Simon Lax; Daniel P. Smith; Jarrad Hampton-Ma...; Sarah M. Owens; Kim M. Handley; Nicole M. Scott; Sean M. Gibbons; Peter Larsen; Benjamin D. Shogan; Sophie Weiss; Jessica L. Metcalf; Luke K. Ursell; Yoshiki Vázquez-B...; Will Van Treuren; Nur A. Hasan; Molly K. Gibson; Rita Colwell; Gautam Dantas; Rob Knight; Jack A. Gilbert
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; General Science & Technology; Surface Properties; bats; bat; Beds; Nose; 03 medical and health sciences; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Clinical Research; Floors and Floorcoverings; Chiroptera; Genetics; 2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment; Animals; Humans; Animalia; Family; Aetiology; Household Articles; Chordata; 360; Bacteria; Foot; Microbiota; Human Genome; Pets; Biodiversity; Hand; 3. Good health; Good Health and Well Being; 13. Climate action; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Mammalia; Metagenome; Infection; Transcriptome

Signature microbes follow you from house to house

Householders share more than habitation; they also share inhabitants. In a diverse sample of U.S. homes, Lax et al. found that people and animals sharing homes shared their microbial communities (microbiota) too, probably because of skin shedding and hand and foot contamination. When families moved, their microbiological “aura” followed. If one person left the home even for a few days, their contribution to the microbiome diminished. These findings have implications not only for household identity and composition, but also for indicators of the members' health and well-being.

Science , this issue p. 1048