Foot bacteria. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of bacteria that live on human feet. Such bacteria metabolise sweat and other substances on the skin

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Foot bacteria. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of bacteria that live on human feet. Such bacteria metabolise sweat and other substances on the skin. Brevibacterium sp. (cyan) are considered a major cause of foot and shoe odour because they ingest dead skin on the feet and, in the process, convert the amino acid methionine into methanethiol, a colourless gas with a distinctive putrid smell that has a sulfuric aroma. The dead skin that fuels this process is especially common on the soles and between the toes. Brevibacterium also give cheeses their characteristic smell. Magnification: x15000 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

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Size: 4699px × 3719px
Photo credit: © STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: bacteria, bacterial, bacterium, biology, biome, brevibacteria, brevibacterium, cheese, cheesy, coloured, culture, false-coloured, feet, methanethiol, methionine, micro-organisms, microbe, microbes, microbiological, microbiology, microbiome, microbiota, microscope, multiple, odor, odour, olfaction, olfactory, prokaryote, prokaryotic, sem, sense, skin, smell