Abstract
The skin microbial community is regarded as essential for human health and well-being, but likewise plays an important role in the formation of body odor in, for instance, the axillae. Few molecular-based research was done on the axillary microbiome. This study typified the axillary microbiome of a group of 53 healthy subjects. A profound view was obtained of the interpersonal, intrapersonal and temporal diversity of the human axillary microbiota. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and next generation sequencing on 16S rRNA gene region were combined and used as extent to each other. Two important clusters were characterized, where Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium species were the abundant species. Females predominantly clustered within the Staphylococcus cluster (87%, n = 17), whereas males clustered more in the Corynebacterium cluster (39%, n = 36). The axillary microbiota was unique to each individual. Left-right asymmetry occurred in about half of the human population. For the first time, an elaborate study was performed on the dynamics of the axillary microbiome. A relatively stable axillary microbiome was noticed, although a few subjects evolved towards another stable community. The deodorant usage had a proportional linear influence on the species diversity of the axillary microbiome.
Highlights
The human skin harbors multiple niches, each being specified by a unique microbial community
Clustering was performed in an unrooted way, independent from the further hypothesis testing. 61% of the subjects clustered in a group with Staphylococcus spp. as dominant species (Figure 1)
The main species of this cluster was Staphylococcus epidermidis, with prevalence of another Staphylococcus spp. and Staphylococcus hominis, all located within the higher denaturation area
Summary
The human skin harbors multiple niches, each being specified by a unique microbial community. Marples [1] compared the ecology of the skin with that of the earth: ‘‘the forearm is the desert, the scalps are the cool woods and the armpit is the tropical rainforest’’. The skin is, in constant interaction with microorganisms from the environment, as it is the most outer part of the body. The dry areas, such as forearm, hand and buttock, contain a very diverse community with few interpersonal similarities [3,4,5]. The skin is, considered to preserve a complex microbial ecology, containing persistent resident bacteria, short-term resident bacteria and transient bacteria [6]
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