Total number of prokaryotes on the skin of an individual

Range ~300,000,000 Cells
Organism prokaryote
Reference William B. Whitman,*† David C. Coleman,‡ and William J. Wiebe. Prokaryotes: The unseen majority. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 June 9 95(12): 6580 left column 4th paragraphPubMed ID9618454
Primary Source 57) Willett, H. P. (1992) in Zinsser Microbiology, eds. Joklik, W. K., Willett, H. P., Amos, D. B. & Wilfert, C. M. (Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, CT), 20th Ed., pp. 393–400. AND (58) Marples, M. J. (1965) The Ecology of the Human Skin (Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL), p. 6.
Comments "...the numbers of prokaryotes on the skin of humans can be calculated. The density of prokaryotes is about 10^3–10^4 cells/cm2, except in the groin and axilla, where it is 10^6 cells/cm2 (primary source 57). Based on the surface area of an adult (primary source 58), the total number of prokaryotes on the skin of an individual is about 3?10^8 cells, a value far below the number of prokaryotes in the colon (Table 4)." See BNID 105712
Entered by Uri M
ID 108505