Transferability of Human and Environmental Microbiome on Clothes as a Tool for Forensic Investigations

Considering the growing importance of microbiome analyses in forensics for identifying individuals, this study explores the transfer of the skin microbiome onto clothing, its persistence on fabrics over time, and its transferability from the environment and between different garments. Furthermore, this project compares three specific QIAGEN microbiome extraction kits to test their extraction efficiency on fabric samples. Additionally, this study aims to check if these extracts contain human DNA, providing a chance to obtain more information from the same evidence for personal identification. The results obtained show: (1) variations in the skin microbiome between the volunteers, potentially due to their different sex; (2) differences in microbial composition between worn and unworn clothing; (3) the influence of the environment on the microbial signature of unworn clothing; (4) the potential use of certain phyla as biomarkers to differentiate between worn and unworn garments, even over extended periods; (5) a tendency towards extraction biases in the QIAampMP® DNA microbiome kit among the three tested ones; and (6) none of the extraction kits allow for the typing of human genetic profiles suitable for comparison. In conclusion, our study offers supplementary insights into the potential utility of time-transferred microbiome analysis on garments for forensic applications.

Estrogen Action and Gut Microbiome Metabolism in Dermal Health

Emerging scientific advances in microbial research linking estrogens and the gut-skin microbiome in reference to dermal health are featured in this narrative review of journal reports and reviews from January 2018 through February 2022. Background information on advances in microbial research along with defining the microbiota and microbiome is presented in brief. The development of and factors that influence the gut microbiome in health and disease as well as the intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing the skin microbiome and skin aging are summarized. New information on the development and changes of organ microbiomes have exposed similarities between skin and gut structure/function, microbial components/diversity/taxonomy and how they impact the immune response for combating disease and enhancing wellness. Estrogens promote health and support homeostasis in general and directly impact dermal health. Moreover, the gut, based upon the level of the microbial enzyme β-glucuronidase, which regulates estrogen’s enterohepatic recirculation, constitutes a gut-skin microbial axis. This axis revolves around the systemically available estrogen to support immune function, counteract inflammation and oxidative stress, and decrease the risk of hormone-dependent skin cancers. These data support the direct effect of estrogens on skin health and the interaction of diet on dermal health via effects on the gut microflora. Finally, the potential for bioactive botanicals containing phytoestrogens or selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) to evade the effects of gut β-glucuronidase expressing flora is proposed that may have a positive impact on skin.

Shedding light on biological sex differences and microbiota-gut-brain axis: a comprehensive review of its roles in neuropsychiatric disorders

Women and men are suggested to have differences in vulnerability to neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), schizophrenia, eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa, neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease. Genetic factors and sex hormones are apparently the main mediators of these differences. Recent evidence uncovers that reciprocal interactions between sex-related features (e.g., sex hormones and sex differences in the brain) and gut microbiota could play a role in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders via influencing the gut–brain axis. It is increasingly evident that sex–microbiota–brain interactions take part in the occurrence of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Accordingly, integrating the existing evidence might help to enlighten the fundamental roles of these interactions in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition, an increased understanding of the biological sex differences on the microbiota–brain may lead to advances in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders and increase the potential for precision medicine. This review discusses the effects of sex differences on the brain and gut microbiota and the putative underlying mechanisms of action. Additionally, we discuss the consequences of interactions between sex differences and gut microbiota on the emergence of particular neuropsychiatric disorders.

The human microbiome is a unique set of organisms affecting health via the gut–brain axis.

Neuropsychiatric disorders, eating disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders are regulated by the microbiota–gut–brain axis in a sex-specific manner.

Understanding the role of the microbiota–gut–brain axis and its sex differences in various diseases can lead to better therapeutic methods.

Iron Reshapes the Gut Microbiome and Host Metabolism

Compelling studies have established that the gut microbiome is a modifier of metabolic health. Changes in the composition of the gut microbiome are influenced by genetics and the environment, including diet. Iron is a potential node of crosstalk between the host-microbe relationship and metabolic disease. Although iron is well characterized as a frequent traveling companion of metabolic disease, the role of iron is underappreciated because the mechanisms of iron's influence on host metabolism are poorly characterized. Both iron deficiency and excessive amounts leading to iron overload can have detrimental effects on cardiometabolic health. Optimal iron homeostasis is critical for regulation of host immunity and metabolism in addition to regulation of commensal and pathogenic enteric bacteria. In this article we review evidence to support the notion that altering composition of the gut microbiome may be an important route via which iron impacts cardiometabolic health. We discuss reshaping of the microbiome by iron, the physiological significance and the potential for therapeutic interventions.

How and Why Men and Women Differ in Their Microbiomes: Medical Ecology and Network Analyses of the Microgenderome

Microgenderome or sexual dimorphism in microbiome refers to the bidirectional interactions between microbiotas, sex hormones, and immune systems, and it is highly relevant to disease susceptibility. A critical step in exploring microgenderome is to dissect the sex differences in key community ecology properties, which has not been systematically analyzed. This study aims at filling the gap by reanalyzing the Human Microbiome Project datasets with two objectives: (i) dissecting the sex differences in community diversity and their intersubject scaling, species composition, core/periphery species, and high-salience skeletons (species interactions); (ii) offering mechanistic interpretations for (i). Conceptually, the Vellend-Hanson synthesis of community ecology that stipulates selection, drift, speciation, and dispersal as the four processes driving community dynamics is followed. Methodologically, seven approaches reflecting the state-of-the-art research in medical ecology of human microbiomes are harnessed to achieve the objectives. It is postulated that the revealed microgenderome characteristics (categorized as seven aspects of differences/similarities) exert far reaching influences on disease susceptibility, and are primarily due to the sex difference in selection effects (deterministic fitness differences in microbial species and/or species interactions with each other or with their hosts), which are, in turn, shaped/modulated by host physiology (immunity, hormones, gut-brain communications, etc.).