A antibiotic modulates human skin microbiota composition in hair follicles. Author Jan Claesen, Jennifer Spagnolo, Stephany Ramos, Kenji Kurita, Allyson Byrd, Alexander Aksenov, Alexey Melnik, Weng Wong, Shuo Wang, Ryan Hernandez, Mohamed Donia, Pieter Dorrestein, Heidi Kong, Julia Segre, Roger Linington, Michael Fischbach, Katherine Lemon Publication Year 2020 Type Journal Article Abstract The composition of the skin microbiota varies widely among individuals when sampled at the same body site. A key question is which molecular factors determine strain-level variability within sub-ecosystems of the skin microbiota. Here, we used a genomics-guided approach to identify an antibacterial biosynthetic gene cluster in (formerly ), a human skin commensal bacterium that is widely distributed across individuals and skin sites. Experimental characterization of this biosynthetic gene cluster resulted in identification of a new thiopeptide antibiotic, cutimycin. Analysis of individual human skin hair follicles revealed that cutimycin contributed to the ecology of the skin hair follicle microbiota and helped to reduce colonization of skin hair follicles by species. Keywords Anti-Bacterial Agents, Humans, Microbiota, Hair Follicle, Skin, Propionibacterium acnes Journal Sci Transl Med Volume 12 Issue 570 Date Published 2020 Nov 18 ISSN Number 1946-6242 DOI 10.1126/scitranslmed.aay5445 Alternate Journal Sci Transl Med PMCID PMC8478231 PMID 33208503 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML