Bacterial battles on your skin

Microbiome Normal human skin is colonized by a variety of normally harmless bacteria. However, one such bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus , can aggravate symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Nakatsuji et al. report that other strains of Staphylococcus residing on the skin of healthy individuals produce an antimicrobial peptide that can inhibit S. aureus growth. Colonization of pigskin or mouse skin with these protective commensals reduced S. aureus replication. Furthermore, autologous bacterial transplant in a small number of atopic dermatitis patients drastically reduced S. aureus skin burden. This commensal skin transplant has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and a clinical trial is under way. Sci. Transl. Med. 9 , eaah4680 (2017).