Shotgun Metagenomic Characterization of Acne Microbiota Before and After Treatment with a Topical Biotechnological Phytocomplex: Understanding Skin Dysbiosis

This study assessed the impact of a topical phytocomplex on the acne skin microbiota, encompassing bacterial, fungal, and phage communities. Skin samples obtained from participants exhibiting a positive response to the treatment were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic approaches including taxonomic profiling, metagenome assembly, functional annotation, and phage identification. Results showed that after treatment, microbial diversity increased, reflecting a more balanced microbial composition. Cutibacterium acnes levels were reduced, particularly virulent IA1/IA2 phylotypes, whereas non-pathogenic or unclassified strains increased. Opportunistic pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae were no longer detected, and beneficial genera including Psychrobacter and Dermabacter were enriched. Functional analysis showed reduced virulence- and biofilm-related pathways, alongside enhanced tryptophan metabolism, SCFA production, lipid synthesis, and riboflavin and folate biosynthesis. Fungal populations, dominated by Malassezia, became more evenly distributed, with notable post-treatment reductions in M. arunalokei, Exophiala spinifera, and Wickerhamomyces anomalus. Phage populations mirrored bacterial changes, with enrichment of Cutibacterium-associated phages post-treatment. These findings demonstrate that the phytocomplex promotes functional rebalancing of the skin microbiota by reducing pathogenic features while maintaining ecosystem stability. The inhibition of quorum sensing, potentially mediated by N-acyl-homoserine lactone acetylation, emerged from metabolic pathway annotation as a hypothetic key mechanism impairing bacterial communication and virulence associated with acne vulgaris.