Microbiological Characteristics of Some Stations of Moscow Subway
Andrei A. Pochtovyi,
Daria V. Vasina,
Bakhtiyar I. Verdiev,
Alexey M. Shchetinin,
Anton G. Yuzhakov,
Roman S. Ovchinnikov,
Artem P. Tkachuk,
Vladimir A. Gushchin,
Alexander L. Gintsburg
Affiliations
Andrei A. Pochtovyi
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Daria V. Vasina
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Bakhtiyar I. Verdiev
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Alexey M. Shchetinin
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Anton G. Yuzhakov
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Roman S. Ovchinnikov
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Artem P. Tkachuk
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Vladimir A. Gushchin
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
Alexander L. Gintsburg
Federal State Budget Institution “National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Named after Honorary Academician N F Gamaleya” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 123098 Moscow, Russia
The subway is one of the most actively used means of transport in the traffic infrastructure of large metropolitan areas. More than seven million passengers use the Moscow subway every day, which promotes the exchange of microorganisms between people and the surrounding subway environment. In this research, a study of the bacterial communities of two Moscow subway stations was conducted and the common subway microbiome was determined. However, there were differences in microbiological and antibiotic-resistance profiles, depending on the station. The station’s operational period since opening correlated with the taxonomic diversity and resistance of the identified bacteria. Moreover, differences between aerosol and surface bacterial communities were found at the two subway stations, indicating the importance of diversified sampling during the microbiome profiling of public areas. In this study, we also compared our data with previously published results obtained for the Moscow subway. Despite sample collection at different stations and seasons, we showed the presence of 15 common genera forming the core microbiome of the Moscow subway, which represents human commensal species, as well as widespread microorganisms from the surrounding environment.
