Campaign-Based Citizen Science for Environmental Mycology: the "Science Solstice" and "Summer Soil-stice" Projects to Assess Drug Resistance in Air and Soilborne Aspergillus fumigatus
Campaign-Based Citizen Science for Environmental Mycology: the "Science Solstice" and "Summer Soil-stice" Projects to Assess Drug Resistance in Air and Soilborne Aspergillus fumigatus
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基于运动的环境真菌学公民科学：评估空气和土传烟曲霉耐药性的“Science Solstice”和“Summer Soil-stice”项目
DOI：
10.1101/2020.06.11.146241
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发表时间：
2020
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Shelton J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Shelton J
公民科学项目通常是为了生态和环境研究目的而开展的，但也有很大的潜力用于微生物学研究，以跟踪环境中病原体的出现和传播。“科学冬至”和“夏季土壤-stice”是真菌学公民科学项目，旨在评估在英国（UK）分别在空气和土壤中发现的烟曲霉真菌孢子的耐药性。烟曲霉作为植物材料的分解者在环境中起着重要作用，但也是一种机会性人类肺部病原体。在2018年6月至2019年6月的前四个夏至和春分日，志愿者被要求从他们的家中和工作场所收集空气样本，并将其装在Freepost信封中送回我们的实验室。在2019年6月至日，要求从志愿者的花园和/或堆肥中再采集一轮样本。总共有787名志愿者返回了2，132个空气样本和509个土壤样本，总共增长了7，991个A。熏蒸菌落。这项研究的估计总成本为2，650英镑;相当于每A 33便士。将公民科学应用于耐药菌的环境监测。fumigatus允许在同一天在整个英国同时收集数百个环境样本。如果没有公众参与，这项研究产生的见解将是不切实际的，并提供了提出以前无法提出的科学问题的机会。
Citizen science projects are often undertaken for ecological and environmental research purposes but also have great potential for use in microbiology research to track the emergence and spread of pathogens in the environment. ‘Science Solstice’ and ‘Summer Soil-stice’ are mycology citizen science projects aimed at assessing drug resistance inAspergillus fumigatusfungal spores found in air and soil, respectively, in the United Kingdom (UK).A. fumigatusplays an important role in the environment as a decomposer of plant material, but is also an opportunistic human lung pathogen. Infection with drug-resistant spores can lead to a worse clinical outcome for the patient.On the first four solstice and equinox days between June 2018 and June 2019, volunteers were asked to collect air samples from their homes and workplaces and return them to our lab in Freepost envelopes. An additional round of samples was requested from volunteer’s gardens and/or compost on the June 2019 solstice. In total, 787 volunteers returned 2,132 air samples and 509 soil samples, which grew a total of 7,991A. fumigatuscolonies. The estimated total cost of the study was £2,650; the equivalent of 33 pence perA. fumigatuscolony grown.Incorporating citizen science into the environmental surveillance of drug-resistantA. fumigatusallowed for the simultaneous collection of hundreds of environmental samples across the entire UK on the same day. The insights generated from this study would not be practical in the absence of public participation and offers opportunities to ask scientific questions that were previously unaskable.