Microbial biofilms and the human skin microbiome

Michael Brandwein, Doron Steinberg, Shiri Meshner*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

125 Scopus citations

Abstract

The human skin microbiome plays an important role in both health and disease. Microbial biofilms are a well-characterized mode of surface-associated growth, which present community-like behaviors. Additionally, biofilms are a critical element in certain skin diseases. We review how the perception of the resident skin microbiota has evolved from the early linkages of certain microbes to disease states, to a more comprehensive and intricate understanding brought on by biofilm and microbiome revelations. Rapidly expanding arsenals of experimental methods are opening new horizons in the study of human-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. Microbial community profiling has largely remained a separate discipline from that of biofilm research, yet the introduction of metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and the ability to distinguish between dormant and active members of a community have all paved the road toward a convergent cognizance of the encounter between these two microbial disciplines.

Original languageEnglish
Article number3
Journalnpj Biofilms and Microbiomes
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Author(s).

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