Significance of Changes in the Skin Fungal Microbiomes of Astronauts  Staying on the International Space Station

Takashi Sugita; Otomi Cho

doi:10.20965/jdr.2015.p1031

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JDR Vol.10 No.6 pp. 1031-1034

(2015)

doi: 10.20965/jdr.2015.p1031

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Significance of Changes in the Skin Fungal Microbiomes of Astronauts Staying on the International Space Station

Takashi Sugita and Otomi Cho

Department of Microbiology, Meiji Pharmaceutical University
2-522-1 Noshio, Kiyose, Tokyo 204-8588, Japan

Received:

July 6, 2015

Accepted:

October 17, 2015

Published:

December 1, 2015

Keywords:

skin, microbiome, textit{Malassezia}, Antarctica, astronauts

Abstract

A wide variety of microorganisms colonize the human skin and are important to maintaining human health. However, this community is highly sensitive to perturbations, and diseases can develop when the skin microbiome is disrupted by a change in host or environmental conditions. The International Space Station (ISS) is a closed environment, and astronauts on the ISS do not wash their bodies as frequently as when they are on the ground. The maintenance of a balanced skin microbiome is important to overall health, disease prevention, and a high quality of life while on the ISS. The skin fungal microbiome is dominated by Malassezia sp. These lipophilic fungi are ubiquitous across different skin types, whereas changes in the levels of M. globosa and M. restricta are correlated with the formation of seborreich dermatitis/dandruff. The Malassezia microbiome on the skin of astronauts staying on the ISS changed, and there was a reduction in skin fungal microbial diversity. These findings provide useful information about temporal changes in the hygiene of astronauts who are on the ISS for an extended period and indicate that Malassezia microbiome as microbiological markers of skin hygiene.

Cite this article as:

T. Sugita and O. Cho, “Significance of Changes in the Skin Fungal Microbiomes of Astronauts Staying on the International Space Station,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.10 No.6, pp. 1031-1034, 2015.

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References

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[5] T. Sugita, T. Yamazaki, S. Yamada, H. Takeoka, O. Cho, T. Tanaka, G. Ohno, K. Watanabe, K. Makimura, H. Ohshima, N. Ishioka, and C. Mukai, “Temporal changes in the skin Malassezia microbiota of members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE): A case study in Antarctica as a pseudo-space environment,” Med Mycol., 2015 (accepted).
[6] M. Hiruma, O. Cho, M. Hiruma, S. Kurakado, T. Sugita, and S. Ikeda, “Genotype analyses of human commensal scalp fungi, Malassezia globosa and Malassezia restricta, on the scalps of patients with dandruff and healthy subjects,” Mycopathologia, Vol.177, No.5-6, pp. 263–9, 2014.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] E. A. Grice and J. A. Segre, “The skin microbiome,” Nat Rev Microbiol., Vol.9, No.4, pp. 244–53, 2011.

[2] [2] K. Findley, J. Oh, J. Yang, S. Conlan, C. Deming, J. A. Meyer, D. Schoenfeld, E. Nomicos, M. Park, NIH Intramural Sequencing Center Comparative Sequencing Program, H. H. Kong, and J. A. Segre, “Topographic diversity of fungal and bacterial communities in human skin,” Nature, Vol.498, No.7454, pp. 367–70, 2013.

[3] [3] Y. M. DeAngelis, C. M. Gemmer, J. R. Kaczvinsky, D. C. Kenneally, J. R. Schwartz, and T. L. Dawson Jr., “Three etiologic facets of dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis: Malassezia fungi, sebaceous lipids, and individual sensitivity,” J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc., Vol.10, No.3, pp. 295–7, 2005.

[4] [4] A. G. James, K. H. Abraham, D. S. Cox, A. E. Moore, and J. E. Pople, “Metabolic analysis of the cutaneous fungi Malassezia globosa and M. restricta for insights on scalp condition and dandruff,” Int J Cosmet Sci., Vol.35, No.2, pp. 169–75, 2013.

[5] [5] T. Sugita, T. Yamazaki, S. Yamada, H. Takeoka, O. Cho, T. Tanaka, G. Ohno, K. Watanabe, K. Makimura, H. Ohshima, N. Ishioka, and C. Mukai, “Temporal changes in the skin Malassezia microbiota of members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE): A case study in Antarctica as a pseudo-space environment,” Med Mycol., 2015 (accepted).

[6] [6] M. Hiruma, O. Cho, M. Hiruma, S. Kurakado, T. Sugita, and S. Ikeda, “Genotype analyses of human commensal scalp fungi, Malassezia globosa and Malassezia restricta, on the scalps of patients with dandruff and healthy subjects,” Mycopathologia, Vol.177, No.5-6, pp. 263–9, 2014.