Soil-to-skin bacterial transfer during gardening activities

Soil health and biodiversity are closely linked with crop productivity and human well-being. However, little is known about interactions between farmers/gardeners and soil microorganisms, despite the likelihood of exposure during crop cultivation activities. Producers performing manual cultivation may experience intimate contact with soil microorganisms, yet we lack basic understanding of how much microbial transfer from soil to skin occurs, what types of microorganisms are transferred, or how long they persist on skin. Therefore, a primary goal of this study was to 1) advance understanding of microbial transfer from soil to skin during crop cultivation, and whether resulting alterations of skin microbiome composition vary by management practices, crop type, or climatic region.