Total number of prokaryotes on the skin of an individual
Range | ~300,000,000 Cells |
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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 |