Metagenomic Profiling of Airborne Microbial Communities from Aircraft Filters and Face Masks
Airborne microbial communities, though challenging to study due to low biomass, play a critical role in public health, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogen transmission. This project aims to characterize the microbial diversity and functional potential of airborne microbiomes in high-occupancy environments, such as hospitals and airplanes, using shotgun metagenomics. By leveraging non-invasive air sampling from face masks and aircraft cabin filters, we developed an optimized workflow incorporating environmental and enrichment protocols to enhance microbial DNA recovery and diversity profiling.