Special Issue "Biological and Physiological Diversity of Microorganisms Inhabiting Indoor Anthropic Environments"

Dear Colleagues,

Human-built indoor spaces for living, recreational or working purposes are apparently simple environments from a biological point of view, characterized by relatively stable microclimates and the absence of rainfall. This leads to a simplification of biocenoses, which, if one excludes ornamental plants, humans and domestic animals, are limited to being composed essentially of decomposers. Nevertheless, the biodiversity inherent in this ecological category can sometimes be high and, above all, extremely variable depending on multiple factors, such as the number of inhabitants/frequenters, the different use of the spaces, different building materials, different nature of the furnishings, objects or food stock, the general outdoor climate and conditioning and heating systems eventually present.

Different environmental conditions affect the water and nutritional availability present in the indoor substrates and air which in turn strongly influence the diversity of biocenoses and the ecological interactions formed within them. Many different physiological strategies are adopted by microorganisms to fit to environments that are sometimes extreme from an ecological point of view, particularly with regard to water availability.

Knowledge of the distribution and diversity of microbial population in indoor spaces and their eco-physiological characteristics can be important for the control of healthy problems associated with the presence of certain microbial agents that under certain conditions can lead to even more serious diseases, such as infections, intoxications and allergies to the residents. Techniques for monitoring microbial diversity and their ecological roles in different indoor matrices (air, organic and inorganic surfaces) are constantly evolving and are influenced by recent advances in metagenomics, metatrascriptomics and metaproteomics.

We invite submissions of either review or original research articles to gather innovative contributions to a better understanding of indoor microbial biocenoses, their impact on human health and material degradation (including impact on cultural heritage), and the processes that lead to their diffusion in man-made indoor environments.

Dr. Matteo Montanari
Dr. Paola De Nuntiis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• indoor environment
• microbial ecology
• biodiversity
• microbiome
• indoor air quality
• biodeterioration
• aerobiology
• allergology
• monitoring