Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34995483›Full record

ArticleCell host & microbe2022

Anatomy promotes neutral coexistence of strains in the human skin microbiome.

Arolyn Conwill, Anne C Kuan, Ravalika Damerla, Alexandra J Poret, Jacob S Baker, A Delphine Tripp, Eric J Alm, Tami D Lieberman

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell host & microbe, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 112 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
112citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

112 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  3. Article
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  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. The island biology of the host microbiome.Trends in microbiology · 2026
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. The forehead and glabella show pronouncedFrontiers in microbiology · 2026
    Article
  20. Review

52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Arolyn ConwillInstitute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Anne C KuanCenter for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Ravalika DamerlaInstitute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Alexandra J PoretInstitute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Jacob S BakerInstitute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
A Delphine TrippInstitute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Eric J AlmCenter for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Tami D LiebermanInstitute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Electronic address: tami@mit.edu.

Funding

An Evolutionary Framework For Identifying Determinants Of Colonization In Human MicrobiomesDP2GM140922 · NIGMS · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI LIEBERMAN, TAMI D · 2020 to 2020
$2.3M
NIGMS NIH HHS DP2 GM140922
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

What enables strains of the same species to coexist in a microbiome? Here, we investigate whether host anatomy can explain strain co-residence of Cutibacterium acnes, the most abundant species on human skin. We reconstruct on-person evolution and migration using whole-genome sequencing of C. acnes colonies acquired from healthy subjects, including from individual skin pores, and find considerable spatial structure at the level of pores. Although lineages (sets of colonies separated by <100 mutations) with in vitro fitness differences coexist within centimeter-scale regions, each pore is dominated by a single lineage. Moreover, colonies from a pore typically have identical genomes. An absence of adaptive signatures suggests a genotype-independent source of low within-pore diversity. We therefore propose that pore anatomy imposes random single-cell bottlenecks; the resulting population fragmentation reduces competition and promotes coexistence. Our findings suggest that therapeutic interventions involving pore-dwelling species might focus on removing resident populations over optimizing probiotic fitness.

Indexed as

Acne VulgarisMicrobiotaHumansPropionibacterium acnesSkinWhole Genome Sequencingbacterial evolutionbacterial genomicsecologygenomicshuman microbiomemicrobiomemolecular evolutionskin microbiome

Identifiers

PMID34995483
PMCPMC8831475

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.