Global diversity and distribution of dust-associated microbial, and arthropod communities in homes

J. OJA, F. SHAFIQ, S. ANSLAN, L. TEDERSOO

Department of Botany, University of Tartu, J. Liivi 2, 50409 Tartu, Estonia

Nowadays people spend a substantial part of their time in homes and other human-built structures. Operating inside man-made facilities, we are exposed to a wide array of small animals and microorganisms that co-occur in our surroundings. Although it is common thinking that microorganisms cause harm to the health of humans, animals, and plants, less is known about their beneficial effects and how they interact with each other. Our objective was to identify dust-associated bacteria, fungi, and arthropods in homes across the world and characterize factors that shape their distribution by using citizen scientists help and high-throughput sequencing technologies. Our dataset is the largest yet assembled for indoor microbial, and arthropod communities, encompassing samples from six continents. At large geographical scale, citizen science is a successful approach for unravelling the built microbiome and arthropod communities. Our findings shed new light on the global distribution of indoor unnoticeable organisms, and we show that several of them have a unique distribution pattern. In addition, we reveal different factors affecting dust-associated microbial, and arthropod communities. In sum, we get a better understanding of the environment around us and how it may impact our well-being and plant health.