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Zhang J, Feng Y, Maestre FT, Berdugo M, Wang J, Coleine C, Sáez-Sandino T, García-Velázquez L, Singh BK, Delgado-Baquerizo M. Water availability creates global thresholds in multidimensional soil biodiversity and functions. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1002-1011. [PMID: 37169879 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Soils support an immense portion of Earth's biodiversity and maintain multiple ecosystem functions which are essential for human well-being. Environmental thresholds are known to govern global vegetation patterns, but it is still unknown whether they can be used to predict the distribution of soil organisms and functions across global biomes. Using a global field survey of 383 sites across contrasting climatic and vegetation conditions, here we showed that soil biodiversity and functions exhibited pervasive nonlinear patterns worldwide and are mainly governed by water availability (precipitation and potential evapotranspiration). Changes in water availability resulted in drastic shifts in soil biodiversity (bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates) and soil functions including plant-microbe interactions, plant productivity, soil biogeochemical cycles and soil carbon sequestration. Our findings highlight that crossing specific water availability thresholds can have critical consequences for the provision of essential ecosystem services needed to sustain our planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianwei Zhang
- College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Youzhi Feng
- College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing, China.
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio 'Ramón Margalef', Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Department of Environment Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Depatamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juntao Wang
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Claudia Coleine
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Tadeo Sáez-Sandino
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Laura García-Velázquez
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Brajesh K Singh
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Sevilla, Spain.
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Dourou M, La Porta CAM. A Pipeline to Investigate Fungal-Fungal Interactions: Trichoderma Isolates against Plant-Associated Fungi. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9:jof9040461. [PMID: 37108915 PMCID: PMC10142788 DOI: 10.3390/jof9040461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Soil fungi play essential roles in ecosystems, forming complex interaction networks with bacteria, yeasts, other fungi, or plants. In the framework of biocontrol strategies, Trichoderma-based fungicides are at the forefront of research as an alternative to synthetic ones. However, the impact of introducing new microbial strain(s) on the soil microbiome of a habitat is not well-explored. Aiming to identify a quantitative method to explore the complex fungal interactions, we isolated twelve fungi from three Italian vineyards and identified three strains of the Trichoderma genus in addition to nine more plant-associated fungi of different genera. Investigating in dual nucleation assay fungal-fungal interactions, we recognised two types of interaction: neutral or antagonistic. All three Trichoderma strains displayed a slight inhibitory behaviour against themselves. Trichoderma strains showed a mutually intermingling growth with Aspergillus aculeatus and Rhizopus arrhizus but antagonistic behaviour against the plant pathogens Alternaria sp., Fusarium ramigenum, and Botrytis caroliniana. Yet, in some cases, antagonistic behaviour by Trichoderma fungi was also observed against plant-promoting fungi (e.g., Aspergillus piperis and Penicillium oxalicum). Our study highlights the importance of studying the interactions between fungi, aiming to clarify better the impact of fungal-based biological fungicides in the soil communities, and offers a pipeline for further applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianna Dourou
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Center for Complexity and Biosystems, University of Milan, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Caterina Anna Maria La Porta
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Center for Complexity and Biosystems, University of Milan, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Innovation for Well-Being and Environment (CRC-I-WE), University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
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Li B, Liu X, Zhu D, Su H, Guo K, Sun G, Li X, Sun L. Crop diversity promotes the recovery of fungal communities in saline-alkali areas of the Western Songnen Plain. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1091117. [PMID: 36819047 PMCID: PMC9930164 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1091117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Phytoremediation is an effective strategy for saline land restoration. In the Western Songnen Plain, northeast China, soil fungal community recovery for saline phytoremediation has not been well documented among different cropping patterns. In this study, we tested how rotation, mixture, and monoculture cropping patterns impact fungal communities in saline-alkali soils to assess the variability between cropping patterns. Methods The fungal communities of the soils of the different cropping types were determined using Illumina Miseq sequencing. Results Mixture and rotation promoted an increase in operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness, and OTU richness in the mixture system decreased with increasing soil depth. A principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed that cropping patterns and soil depths influenced the structure of fungal communities, which may be due to the impact of soil chemistry. This was reflected by soil total nitrogen (TN) and electrical conductivity (EC) being the key factors driving OTU richness, while soil available potassium (AK) and total phosphorus (TP) were significantly correlated with the relative abundance of fungal dominant genus. The relative abundance of Leptosphaerulina, Alternaria, Myrothecium, Gibberella, and Tetracladium varied significantly between cropping patterns, and Leptosphaerulina was significantly associated with soil chemistry. Soil depth caused significant differences in the relative abundance of Fusarium in rotation and mixture soils, with Fusarium more commonly active at 0-15 cm deep soil. Null-model analysis revealed that the fungal community assembly of the mixture soils in 0-15 cm deep soil was dominated by deterministic processes, unlike the other two cropping patterns. Furthermore, fungal symbiotic networks were more complex in rotation and mixture than in monoculture soils, reflected in more nodes, more module hubs, and connectors. The fungal networks in rotation and mixture soils were more stable than in monoculture soils, and mixture networks were obviously more connected than rotations. FUNGuild showed that the relative proportion of saprotroph in rotation and mixture was significantly higher than that in monocultures. The highest proportion of pathotroph and symbiotroph was exhibited in rotation and mixture soils, respectively. Discussion Overall, mixture is superior to crop rotation and monocultures in restoring fungal communities of the saline-alkali soils of the Western Songnen Plain, northeast China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Li
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaoqian Liu
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Dan Zhu
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Heng Su
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Kaiwen Guo
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China
| | - Guangyu Sun
- College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
| | - Xin Li
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China,School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China,*Correspondence: Xin Li, ✉
| | - Lei Sun
- College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China,Lei Sun, ✉
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Lu Q, Hu C, Cai L, Wu C, Zhang H, Wei L, Zhang T, Hu H, Liu S, Lei J, Ge T, Dai L, Yang J, Chen J. Changes in soil fungal communities after onset of wheat yellow mosaic virus disease. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:1033991. [PMID: 36324899 PMCID: PMC9621598 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.1033991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhizosphere-associated microbes have important implications for plant health, but knowledge of the association between the pathological conditions of soil-borne virus-infected wheat and soil microbial communities, especially changes in fungal communities, remains limited. We investigated the succession of fungal communities from bulk soil to wheat rhizosphere soil in both infected and healthy plants using amplicon sequencing methods, and assessed their potential role in plant health. The results showed that the diversity of fungi in wheat rhizosphere and bulk soils significantly differed post wheat yellow mosaic virus disease onset. The structure differences in fungal community at the two wheat health states or two compartment niches were evident, soil physicochemical properties (i.e., NH4 +) contribute to differences in fungal community structure and alpha diversity. Comparison analysis showed Mortierellomycetes and Dothideomycetes as dominant communities in healthy wheat soils at class level. The genus Pyronemataceae and Solicoccozyma were significantly are significantly enriched in rhizosphere soil of diseased plant, the genus Cystofilobasidium, Cladosporium, Mortierella, and Stephanonectria are significantly enriched in bulk soil of healthy plant. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that the fungi in healthy wheat soil has higher mutual benefit and connectivity compared with diseased wheat. The results of this study demonstrated that the occurrence of wheat yellow mosaic virus diseases altered both fungal community diversity and composition, and that NH4 + is the most important soil physicochemical factor influencing fungal diversity and community composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qisen Lu
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Cailin Hu
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
| | - Linna Cai
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Chuanfa Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Haoqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Liang Wei
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Tianye Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Haichao Hu
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Shuang Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Jiajia Lei
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Tida Ge
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Liangying Dai
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
| | - Jian Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Jianping Chen
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
- State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
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5
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Shi Y, Xu M, Zhao Y, Cheng L, Chu H. Soil pH Determines the Spatial Distribution, Assembly Processes, and Co-existence Networks of Microeukaryotic Community in Wheat Fields of the North China Plain. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:911116. [PMID: 35958140 PMCID: PMC9358722 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.911116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil microeukaryotes play a pivotal role in soil nutrient cycling and crop growth in agroecosystems. However, knowledge of microeukaryotic community distribution patterns, assembly processes, and co-existence networks is greatly limited. Here, microbial eukaryotes in bulk and rhizosphere soils of the North China Plain were investigated. The results showed that soil pH was the driving factor for the microeukaryotic community composition in the bulk and rhizosphere soils. The soil microeukaryotic community could significantly differ between alkaline and acidic soils. The results indicated that the soil pH had a stronger effect than niche differences on community composition. Partial Mantel tests showed that soil pH and spatial distance had similar effects on the microeukaryotic community composition in the bulk soil. However, in the rhizosphere soil, spatial distance had a stronger effect than soil pH. Infer Community Assembly Mechanisms by Phylogenetic bin-based null model (iCAMP) analysis revealed that drift was the most important process driving microeukaryotic community assembly, with an average relative importance of 37.4-71.1%. Dispersal limitation displayed slightly greater importance in alkaline rhizosphere than in alkaline bulk soils. Meanwhile, the opposite trend was observed in acidic soils. In addition, the contribution of each assembly process to each iCAMP lineage "bin" varied according to the acidic or alkaline conditions of the soil and the niche environment. High proportions of positive links were found within the four ecological networks. Alkaline soil networks, especially the alkaline bulk soil network, showed greater complexity than the acidic soil networks. Natural connectivity analysis revealed that the rhizosphere community had a greater stability than the bulk soil community in alkaline soil. This study provides a foundation for understanding the potential roles of microbial eukaryotes in agricultural soil ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Mengwei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Yige Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Liang Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Haiyan Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Coleine C, Selbmann L, Singh BK, Delgado-Baquerizo M. The poly-extreme tolerant black yeasts are prevalent under high ultraviolet light and climatic seasonality across soils of global biomes. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:1988-1999. [PMID: 35324062 PMCID: PMC9311647 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Black yeasts are among the most stress‐tolerant organisms of the planet, thriving under all types of terrestrial habitats and extreme environments. Yet, their global patterns and ecology remain far less studied, limiting our capacity to identify the main environmental drivers of these important organisms across biomes. To fill this knowledge gap, we analysed topsoils from 235 terrestrial ecosystems across and within globally distributed climate groups (i.e. dry, temperate and continental). We found that soils are important repositories of black yeasts, and that ultraviolet light, fine soil texture, and precipitation seasonality are the most consistent environmental factors associated with their diversity across biomes. Finally, we identified Exophiala and Cladophialophora as the most dominant black yeasts genera in soils across the globe. These findings provide novel evidence of global distribution of black yeasts and their key environmental predictors, giving new insights for speculating the evolution and spreading of these extreme‐tolerant organisms throughout both natural and human associated extreme environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Coleine
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Laura Selbmann
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy.,Italian Antarctic National Museum (MNA), Mycological Section, Genoa, Italy
| | - Brajesh K Singh
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico. Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Sevilla, Spain.,Unidad Asociada CSIC-UPO (BioFun). Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, 41013, Spain
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Hussain S, Liu H, Liu S, Yin Y, Yuan Z, Zhao Y, Cao H. Distribution and Assembly Processes of Soil Fungal Communities along an Altitudinal Gradient in Tibetan Plateau. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7121082. [PMID: 34947064 PMCID: PMC8706254 DOI: 10.3390/jof7121082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In soil ecosystems, fungi exhibit diverse biodiversity and play an essential role in soil biogeochemical cycling. Fungal diversity and assembly processes across soil strata along altitudinal gradients are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the structure and abundance of soil fungal communities among soil strata and elevational gradients on the Tibetan Plateau using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of internal transcribed spacer1 (ITS1). The contribution of neutral and niche ecological processes were quantified using a neutral community model and a null model-based methodology. Our results showed that fungal gene abundance increased along altitudinal gradients, while decreasing across soil strata. Along with altitudinal gradients, fungal α-diversity (richness) decreased from surface to deeper soil layers, while β-diversity showed weak correlations with elevations. The neutral community model showed an excellent fit for neutral processes and the lowest migration rate (R2 = 0.75). The null model showed that stochastic processes dominate in all samples (95.55%), dispersal limitations were dominated at the surface layer and decreased significantly with soil strata, while undominated processes (ecological drift) show a contrary trend. The log-normal model and the null model (βNTI) correlation analysis also neglect the role of niche-based processes. We conclude that stochastic dispersal limitations, together with ecological drifts, drive fungal communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarfraz Hussain
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (S.H.); (H.L.); (S.L.); (Y.Y.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Hao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (S.H.); (H.L.); (S.L.); (Y.Y.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Senlin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (S.H.); (H.L.); (S.L.); (Y.Y.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Yifan Yin
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (S.H.); (H.L.); (S.L.); (Y.Y.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Zhongyuan Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (S.H.); (H.L.); (S.L.); (Y.Y.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Yuguo Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;
| | - Hui Cao
- Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; (S.H.); (H.L.); (S.L.); (Y.Y.); (Z.Y.)
- Correspondence:
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Fu X, Yuan Q, Zhu X, Li Y, Meng Y, Hashim JH, Hashim Z, Ali F, Zheng YW, Lai XX, Spangfort MD, Wen H, Wang L, Deng F, Hu Q, Norbäck D, Sun Y. Associations between the indoor microbiome, environmental characteristics and respiratory infections in junior high school students of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2021; 23:1171-1181. [PMID: 34278392 DOI: 10.1039/d1em00115a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Pathogens are commonly present in the human respiratory tract, but symptoms are varied among individuals. The interactions between pathogens, commensal microorganisms and host immune systems are important in shaping the susceptibility, development and severity of respiratory diseases. Compared to the extensive studies on the human microbiota, few studies reported the association between indoor microbiome exposure and respiratory infections. In this study, 308 students from 21 classrooms were randomly selected to survey the occurrence of respiratory infections in junior high schools of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Vacuum dust was collected from the floor, chairs and desks of these classrooms, and high-throughput amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA and ITS) and quantitative PCR were conducted to characterize the absolute concentration of the indoor microorganisms. Fifteen bacterial genera in the classes Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria were protectively associated with respiratory infections (p < 0.01), and these bacteria were mainly derived from the outdoor environment. Previous studies also reported that outdoor environmental bacteria were protectively associated with chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma, but the genera identified were different between acute and chronic respiratory diseases. Four fungal genera from Ascomycota, including Devriesia, Endocarpon, Sarcinomyces and an unclassified genus from Herpotrichillaceae, were protectively associated with respiratory infections (p < 0.01). House dust mite (HDM) allergens and outdoor NO2 concentration were associated with respiratory infections and infection-related microorganisms. A causal mediation analysis revealed that the health effects of HDM and NO2 were partially or fully mediated by the indoor microorganisms. This is the first study to explore the association between environmental characteristics, microbiome exposure and respiratory infections in a public indoor environment, expanding our understanding of the complex interactions among these factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Fu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Protein Function and Regulation in Agricultural Organisms, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, PR China.
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