human skin microbiome of healthy children during puberty

Previous cross-sectional studies have shown that skin microbiomes in adults are distinct from children. However, the human skin microbiome in individuals as they sexually mature has not been studied as extensively. We performed a prospective, longitudinal study to investigate puberty-associated shifts in skin microbiota. Twelve healthy children were evaluated every 6-18 months for up to 6 years. Using 16S rRNA (V1-V3) and ITS1 amplicon sequencing analyzed with DADA2, we characterized the bacterial and fungal communities of 5 different skin and nares sites.