Impact of seasonal variation on the oral and nasopharyngeal microbiome in school-aged children: the school MicroBE initiative

The "School MicroBE" initiative explores how the built environment impacts microbial communities in school-aged children by examining temporal dynamics and shifts in nasopharyngeal and oral microbiomes. This longitudinal study involved 119 children aged 4 to 13 at a public school, with nasopharyngeal and oral samples collected in autumn, winter, and spring of 2023. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we assessed microbial composition through alpha and beta diversity analyses, characterized microbial assemblages, and evaluated the relative abundance of key taxa. Significant seasonal variations were observed, with an increase in alpha diversity from autumn to spring in nasopharyngeal samples. Beta diversity analyses did not reveal distinct clustering patterns based on collection months. Hierarchical clustering identified four major microbiome groups with characteristic taxonomic distribution, and co-occurrence network analysis suggested both synergistic and competitive interactions among taxa. Longitudinal transition analysis between microbiome clusters revealed dynamic changes over time, providing a baseline of microbiome states in the tested children. These findings highlight the importance of microbial community shifts in the environment by providing direct measures on microbiome stability and diversity in children, providing insights into how microbial communities respond to environmental fluctuations, including potential pathogen exposures. Understanding these temporal changes will improve the development of targeted public health strategies to assess and manage potential infectious disease outbreaks and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in school settings.IMPORTANCEThe "School MicroBE" initiative enhances our understanding of pediatric microbiome dynamics by revealing temporal and compositional shifts, thus establishing basal studies on a sentinel school contributing to the understanding of pediatric microbiome and its associated health issues.