Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs
Song SJ, Lauber C, Costello EK, et al. · eLife 2013
Observational study · Open access
Key finding
Family members shared skin and gut bacteria, and dog owners shared more with their dogs than with other dogs.
In plain language
A memorable early demonstration that a household is a shared microbial environment — pets included.
How much weight this carries
Repeatedly demonstrated, with agreement across independent groups.
Cite or read it
Song SJ, Lauber C, Costello EK, et al. (2013). Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs. eLife. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00458