Culturable bacteria in the entire acne lesion and short-chain fatty acid metabolites of Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates

Abstract

Although evidence supports that the acne microbiome harbors a diverse range of microbes that play a vital role in the progression of acne vulgaris, the culturable microbes in the acne microbiome have not yet been largely identified. Here, we grew microbe colonies from entire acne lesions on agar plates and identified abundant Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, and Pseudomonas species from forty selected single colonies. Staphylococcus species, including Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), Staphylococcus hominis (S. hominis), and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), were isolated from tryptic soy broth (TSB) agar plates. However, Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) was predominately isolated from furazolidone-supplemented TSB agar plates. Results from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that, besides acetate, propionate and butyrate were the main short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in fermentation metabolites of C. acnes and S. epidermidis isolates, respectively. The culturable bacteria and SCFA profiles presented in this study provide a reservoir for selecting acne probiotics and developing SCFA-associated therapies against acne vulgaris.