ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2014
Indoor-air microbiome in an urban subway network: diversity and dynamics.
Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The Indoor Microbiome: Sampling, Analysis and Emerging Trends.Environmental microbiology reports · 2026Pooled it
- Microbiota of the indoor environment: a meta-analysis.Microbiome · 2015Pooled it
- Microbial landscape: composition and health associations of environmental microbiome in key functional spaces of premium elderly care facilities.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Travel microbiota: a novel frontier in travel medicine exploring microbial shifts across transportation modes.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2026Review
- Spatial and temporal patterns of public transit aerobiomes.Microbiome · 2026Article
- Short-time thermal inactivation of surrogates of the public transport microbiome with a low-cost thermoresistometer.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Microbiome-based profiles of airborne bacteria to support microbial risk assessment in cleanroom environments.Regenerative therapy · 2025Article
- Dynamic airborne mycobiome in the metropolitan city transit system is driven by seasonality and station type.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Characterization of the bacterial and fungal diversity in habitats of Corsica Island.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Probiotic-Based Approaches for Sustainable Control of Infectious Risk in Mass Transport: Current Data and Future Perspectives.Microbial biotechnology · 2025Review
- Functional areas shape indoor microbial structure and potential risks in university dormitories.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Bacterial diversity and biomarkers screening of station and carriage surface in Shanghai metro system, China.Current research in microbial sciences · 2025Article
- The composition of the bacterial communities collected from the PMScientific reports · 2024Article
- An overview of the bacterial microbiome of public transportation systems-risks, detection, and countermeasures.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- Airborne bacteria in institutional and commercial buildings in Korea: characterization with 16S rRNA gene sequencing and association with environmental conditions.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2024Article
- Dynamics of Microbial Community and Potential Microbial Pollutants in Shopping Malls.mSystems · 2023Article
- A comprehensive review of microbial contamination in the indoor environment: sources, sampling, health risks, and mitigation strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- An improved workflow for accurate and robust healthcare environmental surveillance using metagenomics.Microbiome · 2022Article
- Review
- Antimicrobial Effectiveness of an Usnic-Acid-Containing Self-Decontaminating Coating on Underground Metro Surfaces in Athens.Microorganisms · 2022Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Subway systems are indispensable for urban societies, but microbiological characteristics of subway aerosols are relatively unknown. Previous studies investigating microbial compositions in subways employed methodologies that underestimated the diversity of microbial exposure for commuters, with little focus on factors governing subway air microbiology, which may have public health implications. Here, a culture-independent approach unraveling the bacterial diversity within the urban subway network in Hong Kong is presented. Aerosol samples from multiple subway lines and outdoor locations were collected. Targeting the 16S rRNA gene V4 region, extensive taxonomic diversity was found, with the most common bacterial genera in the subway environment among those associated with skin. Overall, subway lines harbored different phylogenetic communities based on α- and β-diversity comparisons, and closer inspection suggests that each community within a line is dependent on architectural characteristics, nearby outdoor microbiomes, and connectedness with other lines. Microbial diversities and assemblages also varied depending on the day sampled, as well as the time of day, and changes in microbial communities between peak and nonpeak commuting hours were attributed largely to increases in skin-associated genera in peak samples. Microbial diversities within the subway were influenced by temperature and relative humidity, while carbon dioxide levels showed a positive correlation with abundances of commuter-associated genera. This Hong Kong data set and communities from previous studies conducted in the United States formed distinct community clusters, indicating that additional work is required to unravel the mechanisms that shape subway microbiomes around the globe.
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Registered trials
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