ArticleNature biotechnology2026
Skin metatranscriptomics reveals a landscape of variation in microbial activity and gene expression across the human body.
Article in Nature biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Skin metatranscriptomics reveals a landscape of variation in microbial activity and gene expression across the human body.Nature biotechnology · 2026Article
- Review
- Skin Tape Stripping: A Non-Invasive Approach Linking Epidermal Changes and Systemic Inflammation in Atopic Dermatitis.Clinical and translational allergy · 2026Review
- Regenerative Approaches to Enhance the Skin Microenvironment and Boost Aesthetic Efficacy: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The human skin virome: Ecological dynamics, aberrant profiles, and therapeutic opportunities.Cell host & microbe · 2026Review
- Ketogenic diet synergistic reprogramming of both host and microbiome promotes tissue regeneration.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Extracellular wax ester biosynthesis by staphylococcal lipases detoxifies skin fatty acids and shapes interspecies competition.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Metabolic and regulatory adaptations of Staphylococcus epidermidis to host stresses.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Comprehensive 16S rRNA gene sequencing and meta-transcriptomic analyses of the female reproductive tract microbiota: two molecular profiles with different messages.Human reproduction open · 2026Article
- Intraspecies warfare restricts strain coexistence in human skin microbiomes.Nature microbiology · 2025Article
- Intraspecies warfare restricts strain coexistence in human skin microbiomes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Metatranscriptomics methods for the skin are hampered by low microbial biomass, contamination with host cells and low RNA stability. In this study, we developed a robust, clinically tractable skin metatranscriptomics workflow that provides high technical reproducibility of profiles, uniform coverage across gene bodies and strong enrichment of microbial mRNAs. Paired application of this protocol with metagenomics to five skin sites in a cohort of 27 healthy adults identifies a notable divergence between transcriptomic and genomic abundances. Specifically, Staphylococcus species and the fungi Malassezia had an outsized contribution to metatranscriptomes at most sites, despite their modest representation in metagenomes. Species-level analysis shows signatures of microbial adaptation to their niches. Gene-level analysis identifies diverse antimicrobial genes transcribed by skin commensals in situ, including several uncharacterized bacteriocins. Correlation of microbial gene expression with organismal abundances uncovers more than 20 genes that putatively mediate interactions between microbes. This work highlights how skin metatranscriptomics identifies active species and microbial functions in situ.
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Registered trials
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 Socratic graph.