The T-shirt microbiome is distinct between individuals and shaped by washing and fabric type

Activity of the microbial population in clothing causes unpleasant odor and textile deterioration. However, little is known about how the textile microbial community is shaped. In this study, we developed a method for extracting DNA from small amounts of detergent-washed clothing, and applied it to both worn and unworn, washed and unwashed cotton and polyester samples of the axillary region of T-shirts from 10 male subjects. The combined application of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR allowed us to estimate the absolute abundances of bacteria in the samples. We found that the T-shirt microbiome was highly individual, both in composition, diversity and microbial biomass. Fabric type was influential where Acinetobacter was more abundant in cotton. Intriguingly, unworn cotton T-shirts had a native microbiome dominated by Acinetobacter, whereas unworn polyester had no detectable bacterial microbiome. The native textile microbiome did not seem to have any effect on the microbial composition emerging from wearing the garment. Surprisingly, washing in mild detergent had only minor effects on the composition and biomass of the microbial community, and only few Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV)s were found to decrease in abundance after washing. Individual variations between test subjects shaped the microbial community more than the type of fabric or wash with detergent. The individuality of T-shirt microbiomes and specificity of the washing procedure suggests that personalized laundry regimes could be applied to increase efficient removal of undesired bacteria.