Scientists have discovered a common household item is the perfect host for bacteria: the kitchen sponge(海绵块). According to the new research, a sponge is a better habitat for diverse bacterial communities than a laboratory petri dish.
Some bacteria prefer living with a collection of microbial species, while others prefer solitude. "Bacteria are just like people living through the pandemic—some find it difficult being set apart while others thrive (繁育)," says study co author Lingchong You, a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke, in a statement.
In their study, researchers distributed different strains of E. coli(大肠杆菌菌株) onto plates with different numbers of wells, which functioned as physical separation. The large wells allowed microbial species to mix freely, while the small wells let species keep to themselves. After 30 hours, the learn looked at I be number and types of bacterial on each plate, which had anywhere from six to 1,536 wells. The scientists found that a moderate level of physical separation, similar to the structure of a kitchen sponge, allowed both kinds of bacteria—those that live in groups and those that live alone—to thrive.
After the researchers ran their initial experiments, they recreated the experiment on a sponge. They found that the bacterial community growing on a kitchen sponge was more diverse than those produced in laboratory petri dishes, which are designed to host bacteria. "Sponges are not really well-suited for kitchen cleanness." says Markus Egert, a microbiologist at Furtwangen University. "There's hardly any sterile surface at home, but the kitchen sponge is probably the most thickly populated item at home."
To keep bacterial growth to a minimum(最小量), Markus recommends microwaving your kitchen sponge for one to two minutes, keeping it away from raw meat, and replacing it every couple of weeks.
