Shifts in the skin bacterial and fungal communities of healthy children transitioning through puberty.

Abstract

Previous cross-sectional studies have shown that skin microbiomes in adults are distinct from children. However, the human skin microbiome in individuals as they sexually mature has not been studied as extensively. We performed a prospective, longitudinal study to investigate puberty-associated shifts in skin microbiota. Twelve healthy children were evaluated every 6-18 months for up to 6 years. Using 16S rRNA (V1-V3) and ITS1 amplicon sequencing analyzed with DADA2, we characterized the bacterial and fungal communities of 5 different skin and nares sites. We identified significant alterations in the composition of skin microbial communities, transitioning towards a more adult microbiome, during puberty. The microbial shifts were associated with Tanner stages (classification method for degree of sexual maturation) and showed noticeable sex-specific differences. Over time, female children demonstrated predominance of Cutibacterium with decreasing diversity. Among fungi, Malassezia predominated at most skin sites in more sexually mature subjects, which was more pronounced in female children. The higher relative abundances of these lipophilic taxa, Cutibacterium acnes and Malassezia restricta, were strongly associated with serum sex hormone concentrations with known influence on sebaceous gland activity. Taken together, our results support the relationship between sexual maturation, skin physiology, and the skin microbiome.