Environmental influences on the skin microbiome of humans and cattle in rural Madagascar.

Cattle ownership had, at best, weak effects on the human skin microbiome. We suggest that components of human biology and lifestyles override the microbial signature of close contact with zebu, including genetic factors and human-human interaction, irrespective of zebu ownership. Understanding ecological drivers of microbial communities will help determine ways that microbial transfer and community composition change as populations adopt Western lifestyles, and could provide insights into zoonotic disease transmission.