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What's lurking in your sink drain? - Understanding microbial community dynamics in communal sink drains.

你的水槽下水道里藏着什么？

基本信息

批准号：
2284751
负责人：
金额：
--
依托单位：
University of Reading
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Studentship
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2019 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2284751
关键词：
What lurking your sink drain

项目摘要

There is greater interest than ever in studying microorganisms in the built environment motivated by the fact that people in the developed world spend approximately 90% of their times in buildings [1]. Recent evidence suggests that the majority of microorganisms that we come across in our lifetime are those that occupy the built environment [2]. Due to the increasing trend towards an indoor lifestyle, and the significant roles the indoor microorganisms may play on human health, it is imperative that we develop a greater understanding of the factors that shape microbial communities in the built environment. Despite the interest and increasing amount of knowledge being acquired in microbial communities in buildings [3], very little is known about microorganisms that occupy sink drains and pipes, especially those in communal or public areas. This is possibly due to the general perception that sinks constitute a one-way traffic of waste, i.e. what goes into sink drains and pipes cannot "crawl" back out. A recent study conducted by collaborators of the supervisory team has, however, shown that not only can microorganisms grow out from the bottom of a sink pipe to the top of a drain at an alarming rate of one inch per day, they have shown that bacteria, having reached the top of the drain, can be dispersed out of the sink and travel up to a metre by the physical mechanistic action of the running water from the tap [4]. While a number of studies have suggested that sinks are an ideal niche for human pathogens to grow and exchange genes such as antimicrobial resistance [5], it has been challenging to identify preventative measures so far. Disturbingly, in hospitals the use of bleach or even replacing the plumbing has been shown to have minimal long term effects on the microbiome and resistance genes, which can regrow and colonise within days. This has significant implications in terms of how sinks in communal areas may play a role in disseminating pathogens and resistance genes.In this project, we will address significant knowledge gaps in the ecology and evolution of sink microbiome, and how it is influenced by sink usage/practice with a key aim to study the resilience and persistence of the communities and species. More specifically we will (1) characterise microbial communities in communal sink drains and pipes in both clinical and non-clinical settings; (2) evaluate the ecological and evolutionary processes and factors that drive their community dynamics; (3) and the effect sink usage/practices have on resilience of the community (e.g. the use of antibacterial soap, cleaning agents on the community). We will leverage various techniques including culture-based methods and the use of modern high-throughput DNA sequencing for characterisation of microbial communities including both short and long sequencing technologies. We will also undertake various manipulated studies to understand how the sink drain microbial community shifts under a set of varying environmental conditions, with the aim of identifying preventative measures. [1] Klepeis et al (2001), J. Expo. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol, 11, p231[2] Dunn et al (2013), PLoS One, 8(5): e64133[3] Flores et al (2011), PLoS One, 6(11):e28132[4] Kotay et al (2017), Appl. Environ.Microbiol., 83:8[5] Brooks et al (2017), Nat. Comm., 8:1814

人们对建筑环境中的微生物研究的兴趣比以往任何时候都大，这是因为发达国家的人们大约90%的时间都在建筑物中度过[1]。最近的证据表明，我们一生中遇到的大多数微生物都是那些占据建筑环境的微生物[2]。由于室内生活方式的日益发展趋势，以及室内微生物对人类健康的重要作用，我们必须更好地了解建筑环境中塑造微生物群落的因素。尽管人们对建筑物中的微生物群落感兴趣并获得了越来越多的知识[3]，但对占据水槽排水管和管道的微生物知之甚少，特别是那些在公共区域或公共区域的微生物。这可能是由于人们普遍认为，水槽是单向的废物运输，即进入水槽排水沟和管道的废物不能“爬”出来。然而，监督小组的合作者最近进行的一项研究表明，微生物不仅可以以每天一英寸的惊人速度从水槽管道的底部生长到排水管的顶部，他们还表明，细菌到达排水管的顶部，可以从水槽中分散出来，并通过自来水的物理机械作用移动到一米处[4]。虽然许多研究表明，汇是人类病原体生长和交换基因（如抗菌素耐药性）的理想利基[5]，但迄今为止，确定预防措施一直具有挑战性。令人不安的是，在医院使用漂白剂甚至更换管道已被证明对微生物组和抗性基因的长期影响最小，这些基因可以在几天内再生和定植。这对公共区域的水槽如何在传播病原体和抗性基因方面发挥作用具有重要意义。在本项目中，我们将解决水槽微生物组的生态学和进化方面的重大知识空白，以及它如何受到水槽使用/实践的影响，主要目的是研究社区和物种的恢复力和持久性。更具体地说，我们将（1）在临床和非临床环境中监测公共水槽排水管和管道中的微生物群落;（2）评估生态和进化过程以及驱动其群落动态的因素;（3）水槽使用/实践对社区恢复力的影响（例如，使用抗菌肥皂，社区清洁剂）。我们将利用各种技术，包括基于培养的方法和使用现代高通量DNA测序来表征微生物群落，包括短期和长期测序技术。我们还将进行各种操纵研究，以了解水槽排水微生物群落如何在一系列不同的环境条件下发生变化，目的是确定预防措施。[1]Klepeis等人（2001），J. Expo. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol，11，p231[2] Dunn et al（2013），PLoS One，8（5）：e64133[3]弗洛雷斯et al（2011），PLoS One，6（11）：e28132[4] Kotay et al（2017），Appl. Environ.Microbiol.，83：8[5]布鲁克斯等人（2017），Nat. Comm.，八点一八一四分