Know sweat: scientists solve mystery

behind body odour

University of York researchers trace the source of underarm aromas to a particular enzyme

The offending odours, known as thioalcohols, are released as

a byproduct when microbes feast on other compounds they
encounter on the skin.

Photograph: SIphotography/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ian Sample Science editor

Mon 27 Jul 2020
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jul/27/know-sweat-scientists-solve-mystery-behind-body-odour

Scientists have unravelled the mysterious mechanism behind the armpit’s ability to produce the
pungent smell of body odour.

Researchers at the University of York traced the source of underarm odour to a particular enzyme in a
certain microbe that lives in the human armpit.

To prove the enzyme was the chemical culprit, the scientists transferred it to an innocent member of
the underarm microbe community and noted – to their delight – that it too began to emanate bad
smells.

The work paves the way for more effective deodorants and antiperspirants, the scientists believe, and
suggests that humans may have inherited the mephitic microbes from our ancient primate ancestors.

“We’ve discovered how the odour is produced,” said Prof Gavin Thomas, a senior microbiologist on
the team. “What we really want to understand now is why.”

Humans do not produce the most pungent constituents of BO directly. The offending odours, known
as thioalcohols, are released as a byproduct when microbes feast on other compounds they encounter
on the skin.

The York team previously discovered that most microbes on the skin cannot make thioalcohols. But
further tests revealed that one armpit-dwelling species, Staphylococcus hominis, was a major
contributor. The bacteria produce the fetid fumes when they consume an odourless compound called
Cys-Gly-3M3SH, which is released by sweat glands in the armpit.

Staphylococcus hominis

https://www.bode-science-center.com/center/relevant-pathogens-from-a-
z/staphylococcus-hominis.html
Humans come with two types of sweat glands. Eccrine glands cover the body and open directly onto
the skin. They are an essential component of the body’s cooling system. Apocrine glands, on the other
hand, open into hair follicles, and are crammed into particular places: the armpits, nipples and
genitals. Their role is not so clear.

Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the York scientists describe how they delved inside
Staphylococcus hominis to learn how it made thioalcohols. They discovered an enzyme that converts
Cys-Gly-3M3SH released by apocrine glands into the pungent thioalcohol, 3M3SH.
Thomas said: “The bacteria take up the molecule and eat some of it, but the rest they spit out, and that
is one of the key molecules we recognise as body odour.”

Having discovered the “BO enzyme”, the researchers confirmed its role by transferring it into
Staphylococcus aureus, a common relative that normally has no role in body odour. “Just by moving
the gene in, we got Staphylococcus aureus that made body odour,” Thomas said.

“Our noses are extremely good at detecting these thioalcohols at extremely low thresholds, which is
why they are really important for body odour. They have a very characteristic cheesy, oniony smell
that you would recognise. They are incredibly pungent.”

The research, a collaboration with Unilever, raises new possibilities for deodorants that target only the
most active BO-producing microbes while leaving the rest of the underarm microbial community
untouched. “If you can have a more targeted approach that selectively knocks down Staphylococcus
hominis, it could be longer lasting,” said Thomas.

Michelle Rudden and others on the study next looked at the genetic relationships between dozens of
Staphylococcus species. The analysis suggests, tentatively, that only a handful inherited the BO
enzyme from an ancient microbial ancestor about 60m years ago.

Since apocrine glands only secrete BO-making compounds from puberty onwards, the odours may
have played a role in shaping humanity. “All we can say is this is not a new process. BO was definitely
around while humans were evolving,” Thomas said. “It’s not impossible to imagine these were
important in the evolution of humans. Before we started using deodorants and antiperspirants, in the
last 50 to 100 years, everyone definitely smelled.”