Human skin metagenome during the first year of life
In direct contact with the environment, human skin is both a barrier and a habitat for microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which tune immune responses and provide colonization resistance. Skin microbial community composition is shaped both by the ecology of the body site (oily, moist, dry) and skin physiology. Compared to adults, early-life skin is characterized by higher water content, lower natural moisturizing factor concentration, and fewer lipids, which provides a different cutaneous environment for microbes and a unique habitat to study the skin microbiome.