6. Conclusion

Recent advances in microbial ecology, brought about by metagenome analysis and the use of 454 pyrosequencing, have led to considerable progress in our understanding of microbial ecosystems, both in terms of species diversity and their function within bacterial, eukaryotic and viral communities. Their application to air will provide a new vision of microbial diversity in the air of enclosed spaces. It will also enable us to better characterize the microbial diversity of air and assess its role in the ecology of microbial populations, as a vector for micro-organisms. The new data will also enable the development of new tools for monitoring and managing microbiological air quality.