Fig. 3

Molecular and bacterial diversity over a 9-week period, comparing samples based on their molecular (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) or bacterial (16S rRNA amplicon) profiles. Molecular and bacterial diversity using the Shannon index was calculated from samples collected from each body part at each timepoint, separately for female (n = 5) and male (n = 6) individuals. Error bars represent standard error of the mean calculated at each timepoint, from up to four samples collected from the right and left side of each body part, of females (n = 5) and males (n = 6) separately. a, b Molecular alpha diversity measured using the Shannon index from five females (left panel) and six males (right panel), over 9 weeks, from four distinct body parts (armpits, face, arms, feet). c, d Bacterial alpha diversity measured using the Shannon index, from skin samples collected from five female (left panel) and six male individuals (right panel), over 9 weeks, from four distinct body parts (armpits, face, arms, feet). See also Additional file 1: Figure S2