Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40315837›Full record

ArticleCell host & microbe2025

Intraspecies dynamics underlie the apparent stability of two important skin microbiome species.

Jacob S Baker, Evan Qu, Christopher P Mancuso, A Delphine Tripp, Arolyn Conwill, Tami D Lieberman

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell host & microbe, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing 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

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  8. Comparative metagenomics using pan-metagenomic graphs.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Mixing microbiomes in vitro reveals rules of community assembly.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

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.
Evan QuInstitute 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.
Christopher P MancusoInstitute 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.
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; Department of Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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.
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; 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

Adult human facial skin microbiomes are remarkably similar at the species level, dominated by Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, yet each person harbors a unique community of strains. Understanding how person-specific communities assemble is critical for designing microbiome-based therapies. Here, using 4,055 isolate genomes and 356 metagenomes, we reconstruct on-person evolutionary history to reveal on- and between-person strain dynamics. We find that multiple cells are typically involved in transmission, indicating ample opportunity for migration. Despite this accessibility, family members share only some of their strains. S. epidermidis communities are dynamic, with each strain persisting for an average of only 2 years. C. acnes strains are more stable and have a higher colonization rate during the transition to an adult facial skin microbiome, suggesting this window could facilitate engraftment of therapeutic strains. These previously undetectable dynamics may influence the design of microbiome therapeutics and motivate the study of their effects on hosts.

Indexed as

MicrobiotaPropionibacterium acnesSkinStaphylococcus epidermidisAdultGenome, BacterialHumansMaleMetagenomePhylogenySkin Microbiomecommunity assemblyCutibacterium acnesevolutionhuman skin microbiomeintraspecies dynamicsmetagenomicsmicrobiome therapeuticsphylogeneticsStaphylococcus epidermidistransmission barriers

Identifiers

PMID40315837
PMCPMC12084124

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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.