Humans Emit a Cloud of Microbes That's Unique to Each Person

It may sound gross, but it's all something that we live with each and every day. Humans emit their own, personal microbial cloud as they interact with the world around them, releasing bacteria and other microbes as they breathe out, wave and move.

In this latest study, the researchers actually tested the individualized nature of a person's microbial cloud. Because each person has their own bacteria and lives in a different environment, in theory each person will have their own, unique microbial cloud.

The researchers sequenced the microbes from the air surrounding 11 different people in a sanitized experimental chamber. They utilized the analysis of suspended particular matter and short-read 16S sequencing, focusing on categorizing whole microbial communities rather than identifying pathogens.

So what did they find? The researchers found several groups of bacteria that are ubiquitous on and in humans, such as Streptococcus, which is commonly found in the mouth, and Propionibacterium and Corynebacterium, which are both common skin residents. Interestingly, the researchers found different combinations of these bacteria among different people.

"We expected that we would be able to detect the human microbiome in the air around a person, but we were surprised to find that we could identify most of the occupants just by sampling their microbial cloud," said James F. Meadow, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Our results confirm than an occupied space is microbially distinct from an unoccupied one, and demonstrate for the first time that individuals release their own personalized microbial cloud."

The findings reveal that in the case of humans, each emits their own cloud of microbes. The unique cloud could possibly one day be sued to learn a bit more about a person's health, or other attributes.

The findings are published in the journal PeerJ.

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