Bacterial communities of hookah tobacco products are diverse and differ across brands and flavors.
Date
2022-08-05Journal
Applied Microbiology and BiotechnologyPublisher
Springer NatureType
Article
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Abstract: Young adults are increasingly using non-cigarette products, such as hookahs, since they are perceived as healthier alternatives to cigarette smoking. However, hookah users are exposed to not only carcinogenic compounds but also microorganisms that may play an active role in the development of both infectious and chronic diseases among users. Nevertheless, existing hookah research in this area has focused only on microorganisms that may be transferred to users through the smoking apparatus and not on bacterial communities associated with hookah tobacco. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted time-series experiments on commercially available hookah brands (Al Fakher (flavors: two apple, mint, and watermelon) and Fumari (flavors: white gummy bear, ambrosia, and mint chocolate chill)) stored under three different temperature and relative humidity conditions over 14 days. To characterize bacterial communities, the total DNA was extracted on days 0, 5, 9, and 14, PCR-amplified for the V3V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq platform, and analyzed using R. Diversity (alpha and beta) analyses revealed that the microbiotas of Fumari and Al Fakher products differed significantly and that flavor had a significant effect on the hookah microbiota. Overall, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Sphingomonas, and Methylobacterium were the predominant bacterial taxa across all products. Additionally, we observed compositional differences between hookah brands across the 14-day incubation. These data suggest that the bacterial communities of hookah tobacco are diverse and differ across brands and flavors, which may have critical implications regarding exposures to specific bacteria among hookah users. Key points: • Commercial hookah products harbor diverse bacterial communities. • Brands and flavors impact the diversity of these communities. • Research on their viability and transmission to users’ respiratory tracts is needed. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2022, The Author(s).Data Availibility
Data concerning the samples included in this study are deposited in the NCBI BioProject database under BioProject accession number PRJNA641233.Rights/Terms
© 2022. The Author(s).Identifier to cite or link to this item
http://hdl.handle.net/10713/19568ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s00253-022-12079-7
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