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Presence of Archaea in the Indoor Environment and Their Relationships with Housing Characteristics

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

Archaea are widespread and abundant in soils, oceans, or human and animal gastrointestinal (GI) tracts. However, very little is known about the presence of Archaea in indoor environments and factors that can regulate their abundances. Using a quantitative PCR approach, and targeting the archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes in floor dust samples, we found that Archaea are a common part of the indoor microbiota, 5.01 ± 0.14 (log 16S rRNA gene copies/g dust, mean ± SE) in bedrooms and 5.58 ± 0.13 in common rooms, such as living rooms. Their abundance, however, was lower than bacteria: 9.20 ± 0.32 and 9.17 ± 0.32 in bedrooms and common rooms, respectively. In addition, by measuring a broad array of environmental factors, we obtained preliminary insights into how the abundance of total archaeal 16S rRNA gene copies in indoor environment would be associated with building characteristics and occupants’ activities. Based on the results, Archaea are not equally distributed within houses, and the areas with greater input of outdoor microbiome and higher traffic and material heterogeneity tend to have a higher abundance of Archaea. Nevertheless, more research is needed to better understand causes and consequences of this microbial group in indoor environments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all the families who participated in this study, and the whole miniCHILD study team, which included interviewers, laboratory technicians, research scientists, and volunteers. Useful discussions and valuable insight of Dr. Louise Nelson and Ms. Geet Hans from the University of British Columbia are greatly acknowledged. We also acknowledge the financial assistance from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grants) and the CHILD Study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada

    Sepideh Pakpour & John Klironomos

  2. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Sepideh Pakpour

  3. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    James A. Scott & Jeffrey R. Brook

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Stuart E. Turvey

  5. Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Stuart E. Turvey

  6. Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Timothy K. Takaro

  7. Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Malcolm R. Sears

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  1. Sepideh Pakpour
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Correspondence to Sepideh Pakpour.

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Pakpour, S., Scott, J.A., Turvey, S.E. et al. Presence of Archaea in the Indoor Environment and Their Relationships with Housing Characteristics. Microb Ecol 72, 305–312 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0767-z

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