AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Fungal Diversity in the Indoor Environment of Green vs. Non-Green Homes
Kanistha Coombs, Doyle Ward, Diana Taft, Brett Green, Jaroslaw Meller, Reshmi Indugula, TIINA REPONEN, University of Cincinnati
Abstract Number: 170 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Environmental movements striving to improve energy efficiency, create healthy indoor environments, and reduce environmental degradation are leading to the increased use of green building materials within the built environment. Green renovation modifies physical attributes of the structure to improve the indoor air and environmental quality of a building. These changes can affect ventilation rates and moisture levels, which can have an effect on the indoor environmental microbiome. However, little is known about the role of green building materials and how fungal diversity is influenced.
Particles from indoor air, in 40 green homes and 32 non-green homes, were collected on 37 mm, 2.0 µm pore-size PTFE membrane filters using single-stage Personal Modular Impactors (SKC, Inc.). Additionally, vacuumed dust was collected from beds and floors in both green and non-green homes. Sampling was conducted immediately post-renovation and twelve months thereafter. Control samples from non-green homes were concurrently collected.
DNA was extracted from the air filters and dust samples prior to sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. ITS sequencing was performed and reads were classified by mapping read data to the UNITE 12_11 taxonomy using UPARSE. Diversity analysis was performed in QIIME and categorical analysis was performed using LEfSe.
Analysis of beta diversity showed fungal diversity from air, bed and floor samples to be distinctly separate from each other. Chao1 richness and Shannon’s diversity indices showed air samples to have the lowest overall richness and diversity followed by bed and floor dust samples. Additionally, there was a higher number of enriched and relatively abundant taxa in air, bed and floor samples collected from green homes relative to simultaneous samples collected from non-green homes. Details on phylogenetic differences between renovation status’ (green vs. non-green) and sampling time-points will be presented.