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Title: Human age and skin physiology shape diversity and abundance of Archaea on skin

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [6]
  1. Medical Univ. of Graz, Graz (Austria). Dept. of Internal Medicine; BioTechMed-Graz, Graz (Austria)
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
  3. Elettra - Sincrotrone Trieste, Strada Statale, Trieste (Italy); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology Program
  4. Univ. of Regensburg (Germany). Dept. of Microbiology and Archaea Center
  5. Medical Univ. of Graz, Graz (Austria). Dept. of Dermatology
  6. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology Program

The human skin microbiome acts as an important barrier protecting our body from pathogens and other environmental influences. Recent investigations have provided evidence that Archaea are a constant but highly variable component of the human skin microbiome, yet factors that determine their abundance changes are unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the abundance of archaea on human skin is influenced by human age and skin physiology by quantitative PCR of 51 different skin samples taken from human subjects of various age. Our results reveal that archaea are more abundant in human subjects either older than 60 years or younger than 12 years as compared to middle-aged human subjects. These results, together with results obtained from spectroscopy analysis, allowed us gain first insights into a potential link of lower sebum levels and lipid content and thus reduced skin moisture with an increase in archaeal signatures. In conclusion, amplicon sequencing of selected samples revealed the prevalence of specific eury- and mainly thaumarchaeal taxa, represented by a core archaeome of the human skin.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1408493
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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