Foot Odor Microbes: Difference between revisions

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Bromodosis is the medical term for having foot odor. Many people worldwide suffer from Bromodosis. Bromodosis is caused from microbes that metabolize dead skin cells from peoples feet to smelly molecules. This is an even bigger problem for people who run because sweat provides an ideal growth environment for foot microbes. Some think that the odor is caused by sweat. This is untrue because sweat is odorless, but the microbes that live on feet grow better because of the moisture provided by sweat. Another contributor to foot odor is the type of socks that people choose to wear. Socks constructed of synthetic material like nylon and polyester provide less ventilation for peoples feet and therefore increase the amount of sweat produced. Wool or cotton socks do a much better job at providing more ventilation for feet so less sweat is produced. A study was done to test the amount of microbial growth on cotton t-shirts versus synthetic t-shirts and the results were that Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were found in both types of shirts, but Micrococci were found in much more abundance on synthetic t-shirts (Callewaerta et al. 2014). Micrococci are gram positive actinobacteria and when under anaerobic conditions they can produce acid from glucose (Microbewiki, Micrococcus). The anaerobic conditions on synthetic shirts were most likely due to the poor ventilation of these shirts compared to the ventilation of cotton t-shirts. Wearing the same shoes consistently is also a cause of foot odor because it does not allow proper time for shoes to “air out” and reduce the amount of moisture inside the shoes.
Bromodosis is the medical term for having foot odor. Many people worldwide suffer from Bromodosis. Bromodosis is caused from microbes that metabolize dead skin cells from peoples feet to smelly molecules. This is an even bigger problem for people who run because sweat provides an ideal growth environment for foot microbes. Some think that the odor is caused by sweat. This is untrue because sweat is odorless, but the microbes that live on feet grow better because of the moisture provided by sweat. Another contributor to foot odor is the type of socks that people choose to wear. Socks constructed of synthetic material like nylon and polyester provide less ventilation for peoples feet and therefore increase the amount of sweat produced. Wool or cotton socks do a much better job at providing more ventilation for feet so less sweat is produced. A study was done to test the amount of microbial growth on cotton t-shirts versus synthetic t-shirts and the results were that Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were found in both types of shirts, but Micrococci were found in much more abundance on synthetic t-shirts (Callewaerta et al. 2014). Micrococci are gram positive actinobacteria and when under anaerobic conditions they can produce acid from glucose (Microbewiki, Micrococcus). The anaerobic conditions on synthetic shirts were most likely due to the poor ventilation of these shirts compared to the ventilation of cotton t-shirts. Wearing the same shoes consistently is also a cause of foot odor because it does not allow proper time for shoes to “air out” and reduce the amount of moisture inside the shoes.


==Section==
==Metabolism==
[[Image:Ara et al. 2005.png|thumb|300px|right|Table showing the acids present in sweat odor. Ara et al. in NCR Research Press 2005 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/w05-130]]
[[Image:Ara et al. 2005.png|thumb|300px|right|Table showing the acids present in sweat odor. Ara et al. in NCR Research Press 2005 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/w05-130]]
The smell is caused by the breakdown of fatty acids and peptides into smaller acids, most commonly acetic acid, serine, alanine and glycine (Ara et al. 2005). This study also attempted to identify what microbes are to blame for the production of these smelly molecules. Propionibacteria and Staphylococcus were present in large amounts, but the amount did not change between smelly feet and feet that did not produce the same odors. Both these microbes are part of the normal human flora so their abundance is not unusual. Propionibacteria is a gram positive actinobacteria that lives primarily under anaerobic conditions, so its main metabolic processes are fermentation to produce lactic acid and propanoic acid. However, the amount of Bacilli increased on odorous feet which implies that an increase in Bacilli could lead to an increase in smell. Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive firmicute that can take up a number of different sugars to metabolize to lactate using the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and has been shown to produce acids that contribute to foot odor (Microbewiki, Staphylococcus aureus). Staphylococcus epidermis has also been shown to lactic acid that contribute to sweat odor (Sawano 2000). It has also been shown that Bacillus subtilis natto produces odors related to sweat by producing isobutyric and isovaleric acid form the amino acid leucine using a leucine dehydrogenase (Takemura et al. 2000). It was found that a similar leucine dehydrogenase is found in many microbes present in the human flora (Ada 2006). However, the leucine dehydrogenase enzyme has been found to have the highest activity in Bacillus sphaericus (Oshima et al. 1978). This enzyme is used to oxidize the L forms of leucine, valine, isoleucine, norvaline, norleucine, and aminobutyrate by removing the amine group from these amino acids and reducing NAD+ to NADH. The D enantiomers of these amino acids are capable of competitively inhibiting the leucine dehydrogenase enzyme. The removal of the amine group from these amino acids contributes to the odor produced by the bacteria that have the leucine dehydrogenase enzyme because NH3 and NH4+ have very distinct smells. While leucine dehydrogenase is most present in Bacillus sphaericus it is also found in many other types of Bacillus as well as in Corynbacterium. Corynbacterium is gram positive actinobacteria that is chemoorganotrophic, and is a fermenter under anaerobic conditions. This amine production as well as the mixed acid fermentation that comes from other microbes present on feet that break down proteins and carbohydrates in dead skin cells are the main contributing factors to foot odor.


==Section==
==Section==

Revision as of 17:14, 26 April 2016

Introduction

Electron micrograph of the Bacillus sibtilis natto, a microbe associated with foot odor. Taken by Zweers et al. in microbial cell factories 2008 http://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2859-7-10.


By Heath Carmichael
What microbes are associated with foot odor? What benefits, if any, do these microbes serve for humans? What metabolic processes do these microbes have that lead to the odors they produce? What diseases might be caused by these microbes?
Bromodosis is the medical term for having foot odor. Many people worldwide suffer from Bromodosis. Bromodosis is caused from microbes that metabolize dead skin cells from peoples feet to smelly molecules. This is an even bigger problem for people who run because sweat provides an ideal growth environment for foot microbes. Some think that the odor is caused by sweat. This is untrue because sweat is odorless, but the microbes that live on feet grow better because of the moisture provided by sweat. Another contributor to foot odor is the type of socks that people choose to wear. Socks constructed of synthetic material like nylon and polyester provide less ventilation for peoples feet and therefore increase the amount of sweat produced. Wool or cotton socks do a much better job at providing more ventilation for feet so less sweat is produced. A study was done to test the amount of microbial growth on cotton t-shirts versus synthetic t-shirts and the results were that Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were found in both types of shirts, but Micrococci were found in much more abundance on synthetic t-shirts (Callewaerta et al. 2014). Micrococci are gram positive actinobacteria and when under anaerobic conditions they can produce acid from glucose (Microbewiki, Micrococcus). The anaerobic conditions on synthetic shirts were most likely due to the poor ventilation of these shirts compared to the ventilation of cotton t-shirts. Wearing the same shoes consistently is also a cause of foot odor because it does not allow proper time for shoes to “air out” and reduce the amount of moisture inside the shoes.

Metabolism

Table showing the acids present in sweat odor. Ara et al. in NCR Research Press 2005 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/w05-130

The smell is caused by the breakdown of fatty acids and peptides into smaller acids, most commonly acetic acid, serine, alanine and glycine (Ara et al. 2005). This study also attempted to identify what microbes are to blame for the production of these smelly molecules. Propionibacteria and Staphylococcus were present in large amounts, but the amount did not change between smelly feet and feet that did not produce the same odors. Both these microbes are part of the normal human flora so their abundance is not unusual. Propionibacteria is a gram positive actinobacteria that lives primarily under anaerobic conditions, so its main metabolic processes are fermentation to produce lactic acid and propanoic acid. However, the amount of Bacilli increased on odorous feet which implies that an increase in Bacilli could lead to an increase in smell. Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive firmicute that can take up a number of different sugars to metabolize to lactate using the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway and has been shown to produce acids that contribute to foot odor (Microbewiki, Staphylococcus aureus). Staphylococcus epidermis has also been shown to lactic acid that contribute to sweat odor (Sawano 2000). It has also been shown that Bacillus subtilis natto produces odors related to sweat by producing isobutyric and isovaleric acid form the amino acid leucine using a leucine dehydrogenase (Takemura et al. 2000). It was found that a similar leucine dehydrogenase is found in many microbes present in the human flora (Ada 2006). However, the leucine dehydrogenase enzyme has been found to have the highest activity in Bacillus sphaericus (Oshima et al. 1978). This enzyme is used to oxidize the L forms of leucine, valine, isoleucine, norvaline, norleucine, and aminobutyrate by removing the amine group from these amino acids and reducing NAD+ to NADH. The D enantiomers of these amino acids are capable of competitively inhibiting the leucine dehydrogenase enzyme. The removal of the amine group from these amino acids contributes to the odor produced by the bacteria that have the leucine dehydrogenase enzyme because NH3 and NH4+ have very distinct smells. While leucine dehydrogenase is most present in Bacillus sphaericus it is also found in many other types of Bacillus as well as in Corynbacterium. Corynbacterium is gram positive actinobacteria that is chemoorganotrophic, and is a fermenter under anaerobic conditions. This amine production as well as the mixed acid fermentation that comes from other microbes present on feet that break down proteins and carbohydrates in dead skin cells are the main contributing factors to foot odor.

Section

Diabetic ulcer on a patients foot. Paola et al. in European Heart Journal 2015 http://eurheartjsupp.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/suppl_A/A64

Reference

[1] Jessica C Zweers, Imrich Barák, Dörte Becher, Arnold JM Driessen, Michael Hecker, Vesa P Kontinen, Manfred J Saller, L'udmila Vavrová and Jan Maarten van Dijl. "Towards the Development of Bacillus subtilis as a Cell Factory for Membrane Proteins and Protein Complexes". Microbial Cell Factories. 2008. 7:10
[2] Katsutoshi Ara, Masakatsu Hama, Syunichi Akiba, Kenzo Koike, Koichi Okisaka, Toyoki Hagura, Tetsuro Kamiya, and Fusao Tomita. “Foot odor due to microbial metabolism and its control”. NCR Research Press. 2005.
[3]Luca Dalla Paola, Anna Carone, Lucian Vasilache, Marco Pattavina. “Overview on diabetic foot: a dangerous, but still orphan, disease”. European Heart Journal. 2015. A64-A68.