Previously, we determined that genetic and environmental factors contributed equally towards rosacea in twins. To assess an environmental factor, we characterized the malar cheek bacterial microbiome from twins discordant for rosacea. We found no significant difference in facial microbiome alpha and beta diversity between related twins discordant for rosacea. However, the relative percentage abundance of Gordonia and Geobacillus, low-abundant genera, was positively and negatively associated with rosacea severity, respectively. Our data demonstrate a significant correlation between facial microbiome and severity of rosacea in genetically matched twins and importantly that overall microbiome composition is largely unchanged.
Keywords: 16S rRNA; NRS score; alpha and beta diversity; microbiome; relative percentage abundance.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.