The First Report of Diversity Analyses of Skin Microbiome In Indonesian Leprosy Patient

Abstract BackgroundSkin microbiome is quiet diverse. There are several factors influencing the skin microbiome, such as skin diseases. However, the effects of leprosy on the skin microbiome remain unclear and there are only a few studies about skin microbiome on leprosy. The aim of this study was to investigate the alpha diversity of skin microbiome on lesional site of multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients who visited the top referral hospital in West Java Indonesia. Here in this study we characterize the skin microbiome in leprosy patient in compared to healthy individual by using next generation 16S rRNA sequencing. A total 18 skin swab samples were collected from 18 samples (14 leprosy patients, 4 healthy individuals).ResultsTaxonomic analysis of leprous skin lesions revealed main five phyla: Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were overrepresented in leprosy patients, while Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria were diminished in leprosy patients compared to healthy individuals. The main five genera in leprous skin lesions were Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus, and Propionibacterium. Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, and Micrococcus were enriched in leprosy patients, while Corynebacterium and Propionibacterium which have a protective role in normal skin, were diminished in leprosy patients when compared with healthy individuals. Twenty-five species were found in leprous skin lesions that were not typical in human skin and considered as potentially pathogenic. The alpha diversity analysis showed that leprous skin lesions is less diverse than that of the healthy skin microbiome.ConclusionAs a conclusion, the skin microbiome on lesional site of leprosy patient show alteration and less diverse compare to healthy individuals. This suggest that leprosy can affects skin microbiome profile or otherwise.