We already know that New York City ’s subways are hardly the beacon light of cleanliness . After all , they ’re shop by 1.7 billion multitude each twelvemonth who drag in their grimy hands and filthy boot . But after swab all those nates , railing and turnstile , scientists have discover an urban ecosystem that ’s more diverse than you could guess . More than 15,000 different species were find in this busybodied undercover world , almost one-half of which were bacterium . The team even discover traces of the bacterium that stimulate bubonic plague and anthrax .
Far from just wanting to gross out germaphobes , the brain behind the new bailiwick hope that regularly monitoring the microscopical wildlife here will help scientists happen new means to tail disease outbreaks . moreover , the data could help researcher discover bioterrorism approach and struggle the ever - growing trouble of antimicrobic electrical resistance .
The immense study , which has been published inCell Systemsand depict inTheWall Street Journal , was conducted by scientists atWeill Cornell Medical Collegewho had the grueling task of sampling New York ’s 466 receptive subway stations , alongside one closed station . As you may probably conceive of , this was n’t the most pleasant chore at times . As eloquently described inWSJ :
“ The Cornell scientist and bookman voluntary gamely dodged rats and gingerly worked around discarded pregnancy test , used condoms , puddles of vomit and molder food to dab surfaces in every subway post . ”
In full , 1,457 samples were collected across NYC , obtained from turnstiles , benches , kiosks and scraps hindquarters . The transmissible cloth in the sample was then sequence and sorted by a supercomputer , and the results were compare with genome databases of the lie with inhabitants of Earth , include bacteria , viruses , industrial plant and animals .
15,152different organisms were discover from the fragment of DNA , almost half of which did not match any known specie , spotlight how little we know about the microbial mankind around us . Of those that could be assigned to a particular being , around one-half were bacterial DNA sequences . More than 550 unlike coinage of bacterium were identify from the samples , and although most were not harmful , 67 of these are associated with disease . However , these likely pathogen were bump at such low-pitched level that they were unlikely to be able to cause illness .
Interestingly , in South Ferry Station , which has been closed since 2012 after it was flooded , the scientists found bacterium that had only previously been isolated inAntarctica . Three dissimilar stations also yield deoxyribonucleic acid from the bacterium that make the plague , Yersinia pest . This believably came from rats , which are recognize carriers of the bug .
The results even told a tarradiddle of what New Yorkers care to fill up their belly with . Alongside identifying bacteria associated with theproduction of mozzarella cheese , they find raft of DNA from chickpeas , which could bespeak a gustatory perception for falafels and humus , and also cucumbers .
If you ’re concerned in finding out more about the wonderful multifariousness of DNA that the research worker found , TheWall Street Journalhas print a coolinteractive mapthat lets you face at the discovery in each unlike orbit . It ’s pretty interesting , but it may leave your skin fawn .
[ ViaWeill Cornell Medical College , Cell Systems , Wall Street Journal , Washington PostandPopSci ]
