Biogeography of the human ocular microbiota

Abstract Purpose The human eye is composed of numerous microhabitats. The aim of this study was to understand the communality and differences in the microbiomes of various regions of the eye. Methods Four ocular sites from different subject groups were assessed including the eyelid margin tissue from patients with lid abnormalities (n = 20), fornix and limbus conjunctival tissue from patients with pterygia (n = 23), ocular (conjunctival) surface swabs (n = 45) and facial skin swabs (n = 16). Microbial communities were analysed by extracting total DNA from samples and sequencing the 16S ribosomal(r)RNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Sequences were quality filtered, clustered into unique sequences (zOTUs) using the UNOISE pipeline in USEARCH and taxonomically classified using SILVA. Results A difference in bacterial richness and diversity was found between sites (P   0.05). There was a difference in bacterial community structure and composition between sites (P  Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus ), zOTUs found mainly on the ocular surface ( Acinetobacter, Aeribacillus ) and zOTUs mostly present in the conjunctiva and lid margin ( Pseudomonas ). Conclusion The microhabitats of the human eye (ocular surface, conjunctiva, lid margin and skin) have a distinct bacterial biogeography with some bacteria shared between multiple regions while other bacteria occupy a more confined niche.