Skin Microbiome as a Marker For Low Dose Ionizing Radiation Exposure

We hypothesized that a change in relative abundance for radiation-affected taxa, through direct effects of radiation exposure and/or changes to underlying gene functions, could be used to predict the dose and time of exposure. Here we used a mouse model exposed to low dose gamma radiation (< 4 Gy) to demonstrate dose-dependent changes in mouse skin microbiome. Our study involved samples from several groups of mice measured at multiple timepoints after exposure to four different levels of low-dose ionizing radiation. Microbiome-based biomarkers indicative of radiation dose and time since exposure were identified through taxonomic and functional analysis.