A new study by National Institutes of Health researchers has shown that human skin is home to a much wider array of bacteria than previously thought
The study has also shown that at least among healthy people, the greatest influence on bacterial diversity appears to be body location. For example, the bacteria under one person’s arms could be more similar to those under another person’s arm than they are to the bacteria that live on your forearm.
The researchers identified more than 112,000 bacterial gene sequences, which they then classified and compared. The analysis detected bacteria belonging to 19 different phyla and 205 different genera, with diversity at the species level being much greater than expected.
They found considerable variation in the number of bacteria species at different sites, with the most diversity being seen on the forearm (44 species on average) and the least diversity behind the ear (19 species on average).
The study was published today in the journal Science.
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