Forgotten fungi: the importance of the skin mycobiome

Abstract

The mosaic ecosystems of microbes that live on our skin encompass not only bacteria but also fungi, microeukaryotes, and viruses. As the second most prevalent group, unique fungal communities are found across the dry, moist, and oily microenvironments of human skin, and alterations of these communities are largely driven by changes in skin physiology throughout an individual's lifespan. Fungi have also been associated with infection and dermatological disorders, resulting from the disrupted balance between fungal-bacterial networks on the skin. Mechanisms of colonization resistance toward fungi in the skin microbiome of animals have advanced our understanding in conservation strategies, yet in the human skin, the fungal microbiome (mycobiome) remains vastly unexplored. Here, we review recent studies on the role of fungi in the skin microbiome, emphasizing how fungal-bacterial interactions at the skin surface play an important ecological function in vertebrate hosts.