Kitchen Invaders

By: Alvaro Sanchez

Bacteria are everywhere, and this article describes a study that specifically attempts to illustrate the diversity and distribution of bacterial communities in a typical kitchen.  The researchers relied heavily on high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize the microbes. Most of the microorganisms identified belonged to the following phyla: Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes,  and Proteobacteria.  The vast majority (98%) of bacteria found were non-pathogenic. The greatest microbial diversity was found in rarely-cleaned kitchen areas, such as stove fans. Moist areas actually had the least diversity. The study shows that bacterial diversity in the kitchen is present, also that it can be predicted. Understanding the presence and types of bacteria in the kitchen is important to human health.

Figure from G. E. Flores et al. 2012. This graph shows the differences in bacterial diversity among different surfaces/areas found in a typical kitchen. The higher the bar, the more diverse the community of microbes present. OTUs are a measure of taxonomic richness.

Original Article: Flores GE, Bates ST, Caporaso JG, Lauber CL, Leff JW, Knight R, Fierer N. (2013). Diversity, distribution, and sources of bacteria in residential kitchens. Environ Microbiol 15(2): 588-596.