AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
Bacterial Diversity in the Indoor Environment: A Factorial Design Approach for Isolating the Impact of Environmental Conditions and Sampling Methods
DAHAE SEONG, Shamia Hoque, USC
Abstract Number: 762 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Studies characterizing the indoor environment show that indoor air and its’ microbiome is influenced by the various environmental factors, such as human activities, occupant number, ventilation, or/and interior design. Bacterial species detected was also dependent on the sampling approaches: active/passive sampling such as using an impinger or through gravitational settling and surface swabbing. However, information about how different indoor conditions as well as sampling methods impact on the species identified is still insufficient for a clear interpretation for source allocation. In this study we investigate the influence of presence and absence of occupants, gender and building type (residence or commercial), and sampling methods (ambient sampling and surface swabbing), on the type of bacterial species detected. Data was obtained from an extensive literature review. Factorial design approach isolated the impact of each variable or their interactions on the response (type of species present). The approach identified the dominant impact of male and female presence on Micrococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp. which is expected as they are both skin related. Staphylococcus sp. did not show a specific gender signature. Sampling location and method also influenced the type of species detected.