Fungal Skin Microbiota is Discovered in Healthy Subjects

Healthy skin

News Release, Skin Aging & Challenges – June 29, 2022

Beneficial microorganisms on the skin contribute to the first line of defense against attacking pathogens. However, instability of the skin microbiota is associated with skin diseases. Hence, temporal analyses are crucial because they serve as a baseline to understand the development of dysbiosis in disease.

A recent study by Bettina Schmid et al. aimed to improve the understanding of the fungal skin microbiota, the mycobiota, in healthy subjects.

To do so, skin swabs were taken monthly for a year from four different skin sites, that is, antecubital crease, dorsal neck, glabella, and vertex, and analyzed by DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 1 region. The mycobiota on the skin was dominated by the class Malasseziomycetes, and the core community was composed of Malassezia restricta, M. globosa, and M. sympodialis at all skin sites. Over the period of 1 year, the intrapersonal mycobiota remained largely stable, with some fluctuations of low abundant non-Malassezia fungi.

The researchers concluded that despite fluctuations of low abundant classes, fungal skin communities form a temporally robust and individual fingerprint in healthy subjects.


Dr. Philipp Bosshard will be further develop the relationship between fungal skin microbiota and healthy skin during Skin Ageing & Challenges 2022 this November.

Read more.

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