Bacterial transport and catabolism of human malodour precursors

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The characteristic smell of body odour (BO) is familiar to us all and is a biological process that is a known evolutionary trait in mammals, with strong associations to mate selection and sexual attraction. What is not widely known is that odours themselves are solely the product of metabolism of the underarm (axilla) microbiota. We have discovered a number of bacteria that live in the human axilla that are responsible for the production of two major BO components, thioalcohols and volatile fatty acids. In this project we will fully elucidate the molecular and biochemical basis for the production of these chemicals, both at the level of the transporters that taken the odourless axilla secretions up into the bacterial cells and the intracellular enzymes that liberate the malodourous molecules from this precursors. The project, a LINK grant application, will also provide important data for Unilever, a large UK based company, to progress their deodorants business