The nasal microbiome mirrors and potentially shapes olfactory function

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 1296 - 11
• Main Authors: Koskinen, Kaisa, Reichert, Johanna L., Hoier, Stefan, Schachenreiter, Jochen, Duller, Stefanie, Moissl-Eichinger, Christine, Schöpf, Veronika
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 22.01.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 38/22; 38/23; 38/77; 631/326/2565/2134; 631/326/41; Actinobacteria - classification; Actinobacteria - genetics; Actinobacteria - isolation & purification; Actinobacteria - metabolism; Adolescent; Adult; Archaea - classification; Archaea - genetics; Archaea - isolation & purification; Archaea - metabolism; Bacteroidetes - classification; Bacteroidetes - genetics; Bacteroidetes - isolation & purification; Bacteroidetes - metabolism; Butyric acid; Butyric Acid - metabolism; Community composition; Female; Firmicutes - classification; Firmicutes - genetics; Firmicutes - isolation & purification; Firmicutes - metabolism; Healthy Volunteers; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; Microbiomes; Microbiota - genetics; Microorganisms; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Nasal Cavity - microbiology; Nasal Cavity - physiology; Nose; Odor thresholds; Odorants - analysis; Olfaction; Olfactory discrimination; Olfactory discrimination learning; Olfactory epithelium; Olfactory Mucosa - microbiology; Olfactory Mucosa - physiology; Olfactory Perception - physiology; Olfactory thresholds; Proteobacteria - classification; Proteobacteria - genetics; Proteobacteria - isolation & purification; Proteobacteria - metabolism; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sensory Thresholds - physiology; Smell; Smell - physiology; Well being
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19438-3

Olfactory function is a key sense for human well-being and health, with olfactory dysfunction having been linked to serious diseases. As the microbiome is involved in normal olfactory epithelium development, we explored the relationship between olfactory function (odor threshold, discrimination, identification) and nasal microbiome in 67 healthy volunteers. Twenty-eight subjects were found to have normal olfactory function, 29 had a particularly good sense of smell (“good normosmics”) and 10 were hyposmic. Microbial community composition differed significantly between the three olfactory groups. In particular, butyric acid-producing microorganisms were found to be associated with impaired olfactory function. We describe the first insights of the potential interplay between the olfactory epithelium microbial community and olfactory function, and suggest that the microbiome composition is able to mirror and potentially shape olfactory function by producing strong odor compounds.