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The Nature and Functions of Vertebrate Skin Microbiota

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Evolution, Biodiversity and a Reassessment of the Hygiene Hypothesis

Part of the book series: Progress in Inflammation Research ((PIR,volume 89))

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Abstract

The skin is the first layer of protection from the environment, preventing pathogens from entering the body. Although the skin is often considered to be a hostile microenvironment for microbes, numerous microbes have adapted and thrived as colonizers of the skin in different animal species. Several intrinsic and extrinsic factors can contribute to the diversity and composition of the skin microbiome including skin biology, the environment, health status, and lifestyle. Despite its highly variable morphology across different animal species, the skin microbiome plays important roles that are conserved across the vertebrate phylogenetic tree. Along the evolutionary process, the microbial communities evolved with the host, building a symbiotic relationship that allowed the survival of both microbes and the host. This intricate balanced relationship between microbes inhabiting the skin and the host may easily be disrupted by damage to the skin barrier leading to microbial dysbiosis and often times development of skin lesions in the host. We are now recognizing the need to use these symbiotic microbes colonizing the skin to recover dysbiosis and improve skin health. These different aspects that can influence the cutaneous microbiome in humans and animals will be covered within this chapter.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Josh Neufeld for allowing us to include Fig. 2 in this chapter, which was previously published in Ross, A. A.; Muller, K. M.; Weese, J. S.; and Neufeld, J. D. Comprehensive skin microbiome analysis reveals the uniqueness of human skin and evidence for phylosymbiosis within the class Mammalia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115, E5786-E5795, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1801302115 (2018). Copyright © 2018 the Author(s).

Funding

This work did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. A. Rodrigues Hoffmann was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (ES028866).

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Aline Rodrigues Hoffmann

  2. Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Aline Rodrigues Hoffmann, Caitlin E. Older & Mayane Faccin

  3. Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stoneville, MS, USA

    Caitlin E. Older

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  1. Aline Rodrigues Hoffmann
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Correspondence to Aline Rodrigues Hoffmann .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Clinical Microbiology, UCL (University College London), London, UK

    Graham A. W. Rook

  2. Dept. of Integrative Physiology UCB 603, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Christopher A. Lowry

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Rodrigues Hoffmann, A., Older, C.E., Faccin, M. (2022). The Nature and Functions of Vertebrate Skin Microbiota. In: Rook, G.A.W., Lowry, C.A. (eds) Evolution, Biodiversity and a Reassessment of the Hygiene Hypothesis. Progress in Inflammation Research, vol 89. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91051-8_9

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