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Table 1 Beneficial microorganisms in mental health studies found in the built environment

From: The microbiome of the built environment and mental health

Phylum/microorganism

Model

Environmental sources

Presence in MoBE

Mental health relevant findingsa

Actinobacteria

    

  Mycobacterium vaccae

Human

Environmental saprophyte (soil, mud, water, grasses, decaying organic matter) [119–125]

Soil floors [123], reservoirs [125], well water [122, 126], cooling towers [126, 127], water distribution systems [128], household tap water [126, 129], moisture-damaged building materials [130], terraria [131], sewage [122], drainage pools [132], wastewater treatment plants [133]

Increased cognitive function, decreased pain in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer [134]

Mouse

Activation of brain serotonergic systems and antidepressant-like behavioral effects [135]; decreased anxiety/increased cognitive function [136]

  Bifidobacterium breve

Mouse

Human commensal

Human and animal wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [137]

Increased cognitive function [138]; decreased anxiety-related behaviors [139]

  Bifidobacterium infantis

Rat

Human commensal

Human and animal wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [137]

Reversal of depressive-like behavior following maternal separation [140]

  Bifidobacterium longum

Human

Human commensal

Human wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [137]

Decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms in healthy volunteers (administered with L. helveticus) [141, 142]

Mouse

Decreased-colitis associated anxiety [143, 144]; increased cognitive function [138]; decreased stress, anxiety- and depression-related behaviors [139]

Bacteroidetes

    

  Bacteroides fragilis

Mouse

Human commensal

Human and animal wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [145]

Developmental protection from some of the behavioral symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder [146]

Firmicutes

    

  Clostridium butyricum

Human

Endospore-forming soil bacterium

 

Anxiolytic effects [147]

  Enterococcus faecium

Mouse

Human commensal, wetlands [148]

Well water, human and animal wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [148]

Increased brain antioxidant markers [149]

  Lactobacillus casei

Human

Human commensal, fermented foods [150]

Human and animal wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [150], office space (Lactobacillus spp.), bathroom surfaces (Lactobacillaceae) [151]

Improvement in anxiety symptoms in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome [152]; improved mood [153]

  Lactobacillus fermentum

Rat

Human commensal, raw vegetables [154], fermented foods [150, 155]

Sewage [155], office space (Lactobacillus spp.) [156], bathroom surfaces (Lactobacillaceae) [151]

Decreased anxiety and inhibition of antibiotic-induced cognitive impairment [157]

  Lactobacillus helveticus

Human

Fermented foods [150]

Office space (Lactobacillus spp.) [156], bathroom surfaces (Lactobacillaceae) [151]

Decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms in healthy volunteers (administered with B. longum) [141, 142]

Rat

Improved cognitive function, decreased anxiety-related behavior [158]; prevention of stress-induced cognitive impairment and anxiety- and depressive-like responses [159]

Mouse

Decreased anxiety-related behavior [160]; improved cognitive function, decreased anxiety-related behavior (administered with L. rhamnosus) [15, 161]

  Lactobacillus pentosus

 

Fermented foods [150]

Sewage [155], office space (Lactobacillus spp.) [156], bathroom surfaces (Lactobacillaceae) [151]

Improved cognitive function [162]

  Lactobacillus reuteri

Human

Human commensal, fermented foods [150]

Office space (Lactobacillus spp.) [156], bathroom surfaces (Lactobacillaceae) [151]

Increased workplace healthiness [163]

  Lactobacillus rhamnosus

Mouse

Human commensal, fermented foods [150]

Sewage [155], office space (Lactobacillus spp.) [156], bathroom surfaces (Lactobacillaceae) [151]

Vagus nerve-dependent alterations in GABA receptor mRNA expression in brain, reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior [17]; improved cognitive function, decreased anxiety-related behavior (administered with L. helveticus) [161, 164]

Probiotic cocktails

    

  B. bifidum, B. lactis, L. acidophilus, L. brevis, L. casei, L. salivarius, L. lactis

Human

  

Reduced cognitive reactivity to sad mood [165]

  B. animalis subsp. Lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. Lactis subsp. Lactis

Human

  

Altered task-related response of brain networks involving affective, viscerosensory, and somatosensory cortices [166]

  L. acidophilus, B. lactis

Human

  

Improved scores on anxiety, depression, and stress scales [167]

  L. casei, L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, L. bulgaricus, B. breve, B. longum, S. thermophilus

Human

  

Improved scores on anxiety, depression, and stress scales [167]

 VSL#3: S. salivarius subsp. thermophilus, B. breve, B. infantis, B. longum, L. acidophilus, L. planarum, L. casei, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

Mouse

  

Decreased sickness behavior, decreased microglial activation [168]

  L. plantarum, L. curvatus

Rat

  

Improved cognitive function [169]

  L. acidophilus, B. lactis, L. fermentum

Rat

  

Improved cognitive function [170]

  L. helveticus, B. longum

Rat

  

Decreased depressive-like behavior [171]

  1. aAlthough mental health benefits of microorganisms are typcially strain dependent, we have not included strain information in order to simplify the table