Figure 1.

Study design. Five swabs from the nose and skin were obtained from 11 healthy individuals. RNA was isolated directly from the material of four swabs, and bacterial transcription was profiled using qPCR. In parallel, one swab from each individual was used for cultivation to exponential (OD₆₀₀ = 0.5) and post-exponential (OD₆₀₀ = 0.5 + 4 h) growth phase. RNA was isolated and bacterial transcription was measured by qPCR. In vivo gene expression in nose and skin was then compared with the in vitro expression pattern.