Mode and structure of the bacterial community on human scalp hair

The bacterial communities on the various parts of the human body have been shown to be distinct. We first reported the existence of a stable bacterial community on human scalp hair and showed that analysis of its structure by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) is helpful for individual discrimination. However, the detailed ecology of the bacterial community on human scalp hair has not been reported. Here, we studied the mode, quantity, and phylogeny of the bacterial communities on the human hair shaft and root and showed the results from one representative individual.