Metagenomic Analysis of Regularly Microwave-Treated and Untreated Domestic Kitchen Sponges. Metagenomic study of cleaned and uncleand kitschensponges

Kitchen sponges massively absorb and spread microorganisms, leading to contamination of kitchen appliances, surfaces, and food. Microwaving as an effective and widespread technique can rapidly reduce the microbial load of kitchen sponges. However, long-term effects of such treatments are largely unknown. Notably, it has been speculated that regularly applied domestic cleaning and disinfection may select for microbial communities with a higher pathogenic poten-tial and/or malodorous properties. In this study, we distributed newly purchased polyurethane kitchen sponges to 20 participants, with the instruction to use them under normal household conditions for four weeks. Ten of the participants sanitized their sponges regularly by a stand-ardized microwaving protocol, while the remaining ten sponges remained untreated. Meta-genomic sequence data evaluation indicated that, in addition to bacteria, viruses, eukaryotes, and archaea were also part of the kitchen sponge microbiome. Comparisons of sanitized and un-treated kitchen sponges indicated a trend towards a reduced structural microbial diversity while functional diversity increased. Microwave sanitization appeared to alter composition and meta-bolic properties of the microbial communities. Follow-up studies will have to show whether these changes are more positive or negative in terms of domestic hygiene, human health, and well-being.

厨房海绵可大量吸附并传播微生物，进而造成厨房器具、操作台面及食材的污染。微波作为一种高效且普及的消毒手段，可快速降低厨房海绵的微生物负荷。然而，此类处理的长期影响目前仍尚不明确。值得注意的是，有研究推测，常规开展的家庭清洁与消毒操作，可能会筛选出具备更高致病潜力或异味特性的微生物群落。本研究将新购置的聚氨酯（polyurethane）厨房海绵分发给20名参与者，要求其在正常家庭使用环境下连续使用四周。其中10名参与者按照标准化微波消毒方案定期对海绵进行消毒处理，剩余10块海绵则未接受任何处理。宏基因组（Meta-genomic）测序数据分析结果显示，厨房海绵微生物组（microbiome）中除细菌外，还包含病毒、真核生物与古菌。对经消毒与未消毒厨房海绵的对比分析表明，微生物群落的结构多样性呈下降趋势，而功能多样性则有所提升。微波消毒似乎会改变微生物群落的组成与代谢特性。后续研究将进一步明确，此类变化在家庭卫生、人类健康与福祉层面究竟是更积极还是更消极。