Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Longitudinal Homogenization Of The Microbiome Between Both Occupants And The Built Environment In A Cohort Of United States Air Force Cadets, Anukriti Sharma, Miles Richardson, Lauren Cralle, Christopher E. Stamper, Juan P. Maestre, Kelly A. Stearns-Yoder, Teodor T. Postolache, Katherine L. Bates, Kerry A. Kinney, Lisa A. Brenner, Christopher A. Lowry, Jack A. Gilbert, Andrew J. Hoisington

Faculty Publications

The microbiome of the built environment has important implications for human health and wellbeing; however, bidirectional exchange of microbes between occupants and surfaces can be confounded by lifestyle, architecture, and external environmental exposures. Here, we present a longitudinal study of United States Air Force Academy cadets (n = 34), which have substantial homogeneity in lifestyle, diet, and age, all factors that influence the human microbiome. We characterized bacterial communities associated with (1) skin and gut samples from roommate pairs, (2) four built environment sample locations inside the pairs’ dormitory rooms, (3) four built environment sample locations within shared spaces …