We are blithely unaware of the rich ecosystem we harbor in our homes: The ecosystem of bacteria and fungi we scatter around without much thought, which find shelter in the nooks of our doorframes. A recent study, however, will change the way you think about them and about dust.
The study cataloged the types of microbes found in dust from our homes
Researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder and North Carolina State University attempted to find out whether the microbes in our home dust could reveal characteristics of its inhabitants. Published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study showed that our homes show tremendous microbial diversity, and the types of microbes in dust offer tell tale signs of who lives in the house. For the purpose of the study, residents from 1200 homes across the country were asked to swab both their external and internal doorframes. They were advised to obtain the dust from the upper surface of the trim above the door, because it is difficult to access, and therefore difficult to clean. Residents also filled out questionnaires detailing their living habits, age, gender, number of pets, and whether or not they smoked or ate vegetarian food.
Genetic analysis revealed that fungi can predict geographical location
When the scientists genotyped the microbes, they found that there wasn’t much difference between the types of fungi found in the internal doorframe and the external one. This suggests that the fungi had little to do with what happened inside the house and more to do with the type of external environment. Thus, fungi could predict the geographical location of our homes, based on their distinctive types found in different topographies.
Bacteria from homes can predict gender of occupants
The types of bacteria found on the internal doorframes mainly depended on the sex ratio of the occupants. Certain skin-dwelling bacteria were found more prevalent in homes with more males. This could be explained by their larger body sizes, which correlates to higher volumes of shed skin. Also, women tend to have more elaborate hygiene practices than men, thereby reducing female bacterial load. The study was also able to predict whether or not the house had pets, based on types of bacteria that are found more often in homes with pets versus ones without.
A simple swab test of homes can thus paint us a picture of the occupants’ gender and the presence of pets. It is hoped that this could also reveal identities of possible intruders and someday aid forensic analysis.
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