Diverse Human Skin Fungal Communities in Children Converge in Adulthood.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the skin mycobiome (fungal communities) is important because both commensal and pathogenic fungi can drive cutaneous disease depending on host status and body sites, including the scalp, feet, and groin. Interestingly, age may also affect skin fungal infections as certain dermatophytoses (i.e., tinea capitis) are more frequent in children than adults. We previously described the skin mycobiomes in healthy adults, showing lipophilic fungi Malassezia predominate in most skin sites. Because children have less sebaceous skin before puberty, we compared the fungal communities of primary clinical samples from healthy children and adults, based on sequencing of a fungal phylogenetic marker. Although Malassezia predominated on the trunk, head, and arm skin of adults (age 18-39), chil

SUBMITTER: Jo JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5687974 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature