initial findings of the Home Microbiome Study.

1. DANIEL SMITH
ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY

2. YOUR MICROBIOTA
 10bacterial cells for
every human cell.
 Human health is
dependent on
microbiota

3. YOUR MICROBIOTA
 Science, 2009

4. YOUR MICROBIOTA
 Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2011

5. YOUR HOME’S MICROBIOME

6. YOUR HOME’S MICROBIOME
 Building-specific seasonal patterns in
bacteria found on dust.
 In-progress research is exploring the
microbial communities of several locations
in houses: kitchen surfaces (including inside
the refrigerator), tv screens, pillows, the
water inside of water heaters, etc, etc.

7. INTERACTION OF MICROBIOMES
 Human shed about 1.5 millions cells per
hour, along with their associated 15
million bacteria cells.
 Direct contact can transfer millions of
cells in each event.

8. INTERACTION OF MICROBIOMES
 There is a lack of evidence regarding how
rapidly the human skin microbiota is
transferred to the surfaces of the homes in
which we live.
 Hypotheses:
 Microbes from the occupant are transferred rapidly
to the home and replace existing communities.
 The occupant’s microbiome is reflected by the
home’s microbiome.
 Bacteria on surfaces will be most similar to the
bacteria on the body parts that come into contact
with it.

9. WHEN BIOMES COLLIDE
?
+ =

10. FIELD STUDY
 Monitoring the home and human microbiota
of relocating “citizen scientists”.

11. SAMPLING
 Human:  House:
 Palm of hand  Kitchen countertop
 Heel of foot  Kitchen floor
 Inside of nose  Kitchen light switch
 Bedroom floor
 Front door knob
 Bathroom door knob

12. HOME METADATA
 Type of paint on walls
 Countertop material
 Type of flooring
 Light intensity
 HVAC system
 Pets in household
 Square footage

13. DAILY METADATA
 Placedfive-minute interval data loggers in
the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom to
track:
 Relative Humidity
 Temperature
 Dew Point
 Participants also
fill out the form at
right each time
they collect
samples.

14. DATA LOGGER DATA
Temperature Rel. Humidity Dew Point
36 °C 76 RH
Bathroom
28 °C 65 RH
20 °C 54 RH
12 °C 43 RH
4 °C 32 RH
Bedroom
20 °C 47 RH
12 °C 38 RH
4 °C 28 RH
Kitchen
20 °C 40 RH
12 °C 32 RH
4 °C 24 RH

15. ANALYSIS
PCR-Amplify 16S rDNA V4-V5 Region
↓
Sequence 150bp x2 (paired end)
↓
QIIME Phylogenetic Assignment
↓
Principle Coordinate Analysis

16. ALPHA DIVERSITY

17. ALPHA DIVERSITY
 Most Diverse: Nose, hand, and hand-
contact surfaces in house #1.
 Most Diverse House: House 1, followed by
2, then 3.
Front_Door_Knob
Bathroom_Floor
Kitchen_Floor
Kitchen_Light_Switch
Bathroom_Door_Knob
Hand
Bedroom_Floor
Nose
Kitchen_Counter
Foot
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Observed Species (average)

18. HOUSE 1 RESULTS
Staphylococcaceae
Hand Nose Foot
50% Mycoplasmataceae
50%
% Total Population
Moraxellaceae (A)
40% 40%
30% Corynebacteriaceae
30% Streptophyta
20%
20% 10% Moraxellaceae (B)
10% 0% Streptococcaceae
Actinomycetales
1 5 9 13
0%
Pseudomonadaceae
Bedroom Kitchen Kitchen Kitchen Bathroom Front Door
Floor Floor Counter Light Door Knob Knob
% Total Population
80% Switch
60%
40%
20%
0%
Tim
e

19. HOUSE 2 RESULTS
Person 1 Person 2
Hand Nose Foot Hand Nose Foot
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Bedroom Kitchen Kitchen Kitchen Bathroom Front Door
Floor Floor Counter Light Door Knob Knob
60%
Switch
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Staphylococcaceae
50% Mycoplasmataceae Moraxellaceae (A)
Corynebacteriaceae Streptophyta Moraxellaceae (B)
Streptococcaceae
0% Actinomycetales Pseudomonadaceae

20. HOUSE 3 RESULTS
Person 1 Person 2 Person 3
Hand Nose Foot Hand Nose Foot Hand Nose Foot
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Bedroom Kitchen Kitchen Kitchen Bathroom Front Door
Floor Floor Counter Light Door Knob Knob
80%
Switch
60%
40%
20%
0%
Staphylococcaceae
50% Mycoplasmataceae Moraxellaceae (A)
Corynebacteriaceae Streptophyta Moraxellaceae (B)
Streptococcaceae
0% Actinomycetales Pseudomonadaceae

21. 3D PRINCIPLE COORDINATE
PLOTS

22. HAND MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES
Individuals from
different houses Individuals from the same
house

23. BEDROOM FLOORS

24. KITCHEN COUNTERS

25. KITCHEN FLOORS

26. LIVE UPDATES
 HomeMicrobiome.com
 Facebook.com/HomeMicrobiome
 Twitter.com/HomeMicrobiome
 Alldata publicly
available

27. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 Jack Gilbert – P.I.
 Jarrad Hampton-Marcell – Sample Preps
 Sarah Owens – Sequencing Manager
 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation - Funding