An interdisciplinary perspective of the built-environment microbiome

Abstract

The built environment provides an excellent setting for interdisciplinary research on the dynamics of microbial communities. The system is simplified compared to many natural settings, and to some extent the entire environment can be manipulated, from architectural design to materials use, air flow, human traffic, and capacity to disrupt microbial communities through cleaning. Here, we provide an overview of the ecology of the microbiome in the built environment. We address niche space and refugia, population, and community (metagenomic) dynamics, spatial ecology within a building, including the major microbial transmission mechanisms, as well as evolution. We also address landscape ecology, connecting microbiomes between physically separated buildings. At each stage, we pay particular attention to the actual and potential interface between disciplines, such as ecology, epidemiology, materials science, and human social behavior. We end by identifying some opportunities for future interdisciplinary research on the microbiome of the built environment.