Unexplored diversity and strain-level structure of the skin microbiome associated with psoriasis

Abstract

Psoriasis: investigating microbial diversity Analysing microbial populations on the skin provides an insight into the diversity of microbes associated with psoriasis. Nicola Segata and colleagues at the University of Trento, Italy, used genetic analysis to compare the microbial populations on regions of skin affected and unaffected by psoriasis. Staphylococcus bacteria were more prevalent in psoriasis, but there was little clearly defined difference in microbial species on psoriasis-affected and unaffected skin. There was, however, decreased microbial diversity on psoriatic ear sites. Deeper strain-level computational analysis suggested that psoriasis could offer niche locations for colonisation by specific strains of staphylococci and propionibacteria. The results highlight the diversity of microbial populations on the skin, and the need for larger cohorts to build on the baseline data now established. Further studies might help identify targets for treating skin bacteria associated with psoriasis.