Characterization of the genes that were regulated by feeding with C. acnes strains

In the present study, we investigated the effect of Cutibacterium acnes on lifespan and susceptibility to infection with Staphylococcus aureus using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model animal. When adult C. elegans were fed C. acnes strains, the lifespan of the animals fed pathogenic C. acnes strain (HM-122) was significantly shorter than that of animals fed OP50 (control). In contrast, the lifespan of the animals fed commensal C. acnes strain (HM-555) was not significantly different from that of animals in the control group. Moreover, the worms fed the commensal C. acnes strain were more resistant to infection with S. aureus. Transcriptional profiling comparing HM-122-, HM-555- and control-fed animals suggested that genes related to “cuticle development involved in collagen and cuticulin-based cuticle molting cycle” were regulated by HM-122, and genes related to “defense response to gram-positive bacterium” were regulated by HM-555. Overall design: Transcriptional profiling of three-day-old worms that were fed OP50 or C. acnes strains for six hours, by deep sequencing, using Illumina HiSeq.