Dynamics of the Dermatologic Microbiome in Military Members
Abstract
New military members undergo a highly-regimented 7-week training course during which trainees live and work within the same group of approximately 50 subjects for nearly 24 hours a day. This environment allowed for the assessment of the impact of communal living on the collective skin microbiome. Purpose: The objective of this pilot study was to investigate dynamic changes of the skin microbiome in basic military trainees (BMT), in light of the unique environmental influences faced by this population. Patients and methods: We evaluated collective changes in the skin microbiome of normal healthy adult basic trainees in response to communal living and universal Group A Streptococcus prophylaxis with penicillin over the course of their [initial] 7-week training course. Samples from 10 flights of trainees were collected by swabbing their forearms and foreheads upon arrival at Lackland AFB for their training (week 0) which is prior to prophylaxis with penicillin, at the 4 week point, and at the conclusion of their 7-week course of basic military training. Three separate high-throughput sequencing platforms and three bioinformatic pipeline analysis tools were utilized to assess the data. Results: At all three time points we found that the top three bacterial genera identified were Propionibacterium, Staphylococcus, and Corynebacterium. We detected a community membership difference between the initial week 0 samples and the week 4 and 7 samples. A strong inverse correlation between Propionibacterium and Staphylococcus was noted with Propionibacterium being high at week 0 and much lower at weeks 4 and 7; conversely, Staphylococcus was low at week 0 and higher at weeks 4 and 7, this relationship was noted in both the individual and collective specimens.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 02, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1087485
Entities
People
- Andrew T. Patterson
- Brittany L. Lenz
- Jody C. Noe
- Thomas F. Gibbons
- Thomas M. Beachkofsky
Organizations
- 59th Medical Wing