Quantitative and FACS analysis of bacterial and fungal communities on building materials

This is a comprehensive study of microbial community on building materials. Using epifluorescence and differential contrast microscopy, we estimated viral, bacterial and fungal abundances on two building materials under high moisture condition. We also studied microbial growth and metabolism on building materials by using flow cytometry-based methods to differentiate between viable and non-viable cells. FACS was performed to collect viable and non-viable cells fractions separately for further sequencing. With the sequence data, we performed quantitative analysis by incorporating sample biomass. We also took a closer look at the bacterial and fungal community together to study their interactions and dynamics.