Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39341874›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Sample collecting methods for bacterial community structure analysis of scalp hair: non-invasive swabbing versus intrusive hair shaft cutting.

Kota Watanabe, Azusa Yamada, Hao Masuda, Eri Kashiwazaki, Shunichi Nakayama, Toshimori Kadokura, Kenji Sakai, Yukihiro Tashiro

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Importance of human microbiome: an update.Frontiers in microbiomes · 2026
    Review
  2. First Animal Source Metagenome Assembly ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Kota WatanabeLaboratory of Fermentation Microbiology, Department of Fermentation Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Biosciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka 1-1-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan. kw207917@nodai.ac.jp.
Azusa YamadaLaboratory of Soil and Environmental Microbiology, Division of Systems Bioengineering, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
Hao MasudaLaboratory of Fermentation Microbiology, Department of Fermentation Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Biosciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka 1-1-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan.
Eri KashiwazakiLaboratory of Fermentation Microbiology, Department of Fermentation Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Biosciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka 1-1-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan.
Shunichi NakayamaLaboratory of Fermentation Microbiology, Department of Fermentation Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Biosciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka 1-1-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan.
Toshimori KadokuraLaboratory of Fermentation Microbiology, Department of Fermentation Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Biosciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sakuragaoka 1-1-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan.
Kenji SakaiLaboratory of Soil and Environmental Microbiology, Division of Systems Bioengineering, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
Yukihiro TashiroLaboratory of Soil and Environmental Microbiology, Division of Systems Bioengineering, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under a Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up JP22K20573
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human skin samples for microbiome analysis are traditionally collected using a non-invasive swabbing method. Here, we compared the differences in bacterial community structures on scalp hair and scalps with samples collected using non-invasive swabbing and cutting/removal of scalp hair in 12 individuals. Hair-related samples, such as hair shafts and hair swabs, had significantly higher alpha diversity than scalp swab samples, whereas there were no significant differences between hair shafts and hair swabs. The relative abundances of the three major phyla and five major operational taxonomic units were not significantly different between the hair shaft and hair swab samples. The principal coordinate analysis plots based on weighted UniFrac distances were grouped into two clusters: samples from hair-related areas and scalp swabs, and there were significant differences only between samples from hair-related areas and scalp swabs. In addition, a weighted UniFrac analysis revealed that the sampling site-based category was a statistical category but not a hair sampling method-based category. These results suggest that scalp hair bacteria collected using non-invasive swab sampling were comparable to those collected cutting/removal of scalp hair.

Indexed as

BacteriaHairMicrobiotaScalpSpecimen HandlingAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRNA, Ribosomal, 16SRNA, Ribosomal, 16SBacterial community structureScalpScalp hairSwabbing

Identifiers

PMID39341874
PMCPMC11439011

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.