2020 Yes https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019346653?via%3Dihub Fu, Xi Asia Exposure Study Students Middle/Jr High (6-8) Humidity Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Dust Bacteria Fungi Allergens Respiratory symptoms Bacteria Fungi Microbial communities Absolute quantity Wheezing Breathlessness Adolescents Dampness/visible mood Malaysia Johor bahru Tropics Junior high school In total, 326 bacterial and 255 fungal genera were characterized. Five bacterial (Sphingobium, Rhodomicrobium, Shimwellia, Solirubrobacter, Pleurocapsa) and two fungal (Torulaspora and Leptosphaeriaceae) taxa were protective for asthma severity. Two bacterial taxa, Izhakiella and Robinsoniella, were positively associated with asthma severity. Several protective bacterial taxa including Rhodomicrobium, Shimwellia and Sphingobium have been reported as protective microbes in previous studies, whereas other taxa were first time reported. Environmental characteristics, such as age of building, size of textile curtain per room volume, occurrence of cockroaches, concentration of house dust mite allergens transferred from homes by the occupants, were involved in shaping the overall microbial community but not asthma-associated taxa; whereas visible dampness and mold, which did not change the overall microbial community for floor dust, was negatively associated with the concentration of protective bacteria Rhodomicrobium (β = −2.86, p = 0.021) of asthma. The result indicates complex interactions between microbes, environmental characteristics and asthma symptoms.