Short-term direct contact with soil and plant materials leads to an immediate increase in diversity of skin microbiota.

ABSTRACT: Immune-mediated diseases have increased during the last decades in urban environments. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that increased hygiene level and reduced contacts with natural biodiversity are related to the increase in immune-mediated diseases. We tested whether short-time contact with microbiologically diverse nature-based materials immediately change bacterial diversity on human skin. We tested direct skin contact, as two volunteers rubbed their hands with sixteen soil and plant based materials, and an exposure via fabric packets filled with moss material. Skin swabs were taken before and after both exposures. Next-generation sequencing showed that exposures increased, at least temporarily, the total diversity of skin microbiota and the diversity of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria,

SUBMITTER: Gronroos M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6436432 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature