Antimicrobial Chemicals Associate with Microbial Function and Antibiotic Resistance Indoors

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Microbiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Antimicrobial chemicals are pervasive in indoor environments, including building dust.
• Increasing antibiotic resistance raises concerns about indoor microbial communities acting as reservoirs or selective agents.
• Limited data exists on the relationship between indoor antimicrobials and microbial communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the relationship between indoor antimicrobial chemicals and microbial communities in building dust.
• To investigate if specific antimicrobials are associated with distinct microbial profiles and drug resistance patterns.

Main Methods:

• Collected dust samples from athletic facilities.
• Utilized liquid chromatography-isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry to quantify antimicrobial chemicals.
• Employed metagenomic shotgun sequencing to analyze microbial community composition and function.

Main Results:

• Elevated triclosan and triclocarban levels were associated with distinct indoor microbiomes.
• High triclosan concentrations correlated with increased Gram-positive bacteria possessing enhanced drug resistance genes.
• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were prevalent, with resistance levels increasing in high triclosan environments.

Conclusions:

• Anthropogenic antimicrobial chemicals significantly impact indoor microbial communities and their functional potential.
• Specific chemicals like triclosan can select for microbes with increased resistance mechanisms.
• Indoor environments may play a role in the development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.