Developing an In Vitro Culture Model for Four Commensal Bacteria of Human Skin

Abstract

Human skin is colonized by a variety of bacteria called commensal microbiota. The skin microbiota influences the health of human hosts. Since many of these commensal bacteria are difficult to culture, metagenomic analysis is the primary method used for studying them. Furthermore, the application of metabolomics to multi-omics studies of commensal skin bacteria is challenging. This study aimed to develop a composite culture system for four skin bacteria to analyze their interspecific interactions in vitro. To achieve in vitro analysis of skin bacteria, we constructed a medium for co-culture, called the "TUS Skin Bacteria Co-culture (TSBC)" medium. In the TSBC medium, the composition of four skin bacteria, namely Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. capitis, Cutibacterium acnes, and Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum, was found to be well balanced, similar to that in reported Japanese skin. Furthermore, when S. aureus was used instead of S. capitis, growth of S. aureus was also under control. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that the TSBC medium system may provide new platforms for analysis of the skin microbiota.