title: Strains of the Propionibacterium acnes type III lineage are associated with the skin condition progressive macular hypomelanosis.
abstract: Progressive macular hypomelanosis (PMH) is a common skin disorder that causes hypopigmentation in a variety of skin types. Although the underlying aetiology of this condition is unclear, there is circumstantial evidence that links the skin bacterium Propionibacterium acnes to the condition. We now describe the first detailed population genetic analysis of P. acnes isolates recovered from paired lesional and non-lesional skin of PMH patients. Our results demonstrate a strong statistical association between strains from the type III phylogenetic lineage and PMH lesions (P = 0.0019), but not those representing other phylogroups, including those associated with acne (type IA1). We also demonstrate, based on in silico 16S rDNA analysis, that PMH isolates previously recovered from patients in Europe are also consistent with the type III lineage. Using comparative genome analysis, we identified multiple genomic regions that are specific for, or absent from, type III strains compared to other phylogroups. In the former case, these include open reading frames with putative functions in metabolism, transport and transcriptional regulation, as well as predicted proteins of unknown function. Further study of these genomic elements, along with transcriptional and functional analyses, may help to explain why type III strains are associated with PMH.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infection &Immunity, School of Medicine, Dentistry &Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.|Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Northern Ireland Centre for Stratified Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, C-TRIC Building, Altnagelvin Area Hospital, University of Ulster, Londonderry, UK.
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yankova
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvana M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.|UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Huiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infection &Immunity, School of Medicine, Dentistry &Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patrick
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infection &Immunity, School of Medicine, Dentistry &Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.|Northern Ireland Centre for Stratified Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, C-TRIC Building, Altnagelvin Area Hospital, University of Ulster, Londonderry, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McDowell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D055028:Comparative Genomic Hybridization; D005260:Female; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D017496:Hypopigmentation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D011425:Propionibacterium acnes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S