Integrated analysis of facial microbiome illustrates impacts of aging and skin physio-optical properties

We investigated the impact of aging and skin physio-optical properties on the facial microbiome using a newly generated dataset of 2,737 species-level metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). Aging emerged as the primary driver of the facial microbiome, influencing microbial diversity, cutotype distribution, and skin properties such as moisture, sebum production, gloss, pH, elasticity and sensitivity. The skin properties exhibited correlations with facial microbiome, predominantly mediated by aging. Leveraging this dataset, we developed a microbiome-based Facial Aging Index (FAI) to quantify the effects of lifestyles on skin aging, revealing cutotype-dependent aging acceleration with frequent sleep restriction and heavy cosmetic use. We identified aging-associated microbial pathways, particularly those involved in inflammation, oxidation and Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) consumption, and further revealed the effects of the lifestyles. Our study provides valuable insights into the role of aging on facial skin microbiome and paves the way for personalized skin rejuvenation approaches.