The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.
","dataTable":{"url":null},"extendedData":[],"funding":"Thank you to the West Chester University Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF) program for providing undergraduate student Ianna Burke with a research stipend to support her time commitment on this project.
","image":{"url":"https://portal.micropublication.org/uploads/880f2ee9799f878a8ffc5a8132f95a7a.png"},"imageCaption":"A) Factorial design comparing inhibition among eight combinations of plant extract type and bacterial species.
B) Representative plates illustrating disk placement and zone of inhibition in both S. aureus and S. epidermidis exposed to discs soaked in sterile H2O, M. recutita, and C. ladanifer.
C) Zone of inhibition (mm2) as a function of plant extract type and bacterial species. Means connected by the same letter do not differ. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
","imageTitle":"Experimental design, representative plates, and graphical display of the interactive effect of extract type and bacterial species on zone of inhibition
","methods":"Preparation of Culture Plates
Pure overnight cultures of S. aureus and S. epidermidis were grown at 37oC on non-selective tryptic soy agar (TSA) media plates to avoid atypical variants. A single colony of each culture was used to prepare a suspension medium using 5ml tryptic soy broth tubes. Suspension density was adjusted to match a 0.5 McFarland turbidity standard. The prepared inoculants were used within 1hr to ensure viability. A swab method was used to inoculate Mueller-Hinton agar plates with each of the two cultures. Inoculated plates were sealed and stored in a 4oC refrigerator for one week.
Extract Application, Incubation, and Measurement of Inhibition
Sterile paper discs (28.27mm2) were soaked in one of four extracts or sterile water. Sterilized forceps were used to place one disc in the center of each inoculated plate in a 2-way factorial design (Fig. 1A). Plates were incubated in a room temperature cabinet (approximately 21oC) for one week. The zone of inhibition (mm2) was calculated for each plate as the area of bacterial inhibition surrounding the disc, minus the area of the disc itself (Fig. 1B).
Statistical Analyses
Matricaria recutita did not have any inhibitory effect on S. aureus and S. epidermidis and was removed from the dataset to avoid an overabundance of zeros in the data. A square root data transformation was required to meet the assumption of normality of residuals (W = 0.985, p = 0.569). Homogeneity of variance was not met; however, ANOVA is robust to heteroscedasticity when designs are nearly balanced, which was the case in this study (Fig. 1A). As such, we proceeded with a two-way ANOVA with the response variable being the measured zone of inhibition (mm2), the first explanatory variable being the plant extract type, and the second explanatory variable being species of bacteria. A Tukey-HSD post hoc analysis was used to determine differences among means in the significant interaction term. Means and confidence intervals were back-transformed for presentation.
","reagents":"Name | Strain/Description | Supplier | Catalog Number |
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus | NCTC 8532 [IAM 12544, R. Hugh 2605] | AATC | Cat. No. 12600 |
Staphylococcus epidermidis | Fussel [NCTC 11047, R. Hugh 2466] | AATC | Cat. No. 14990 |
Artemisia herba-alba | Steam distilled, Lot 14 | Eden Botanicals | SKU 78-3 |
Cistus ladanifer | Steam distilled, Lot 7 | Eden Botanicals | SKU 222-030 |
Pogostemon cablin | Steam distilled, Lot 21 | Eden Botanicals | SKU 760-9 |
Matricaria recutita L. | Steam distilled, Lot 21 | Eden Botanicals | SKU 1548-9 |
Within a single generation, social media and celebrity culture have driven women, men, and even children to strive for unrealistic physical “perfection.” It is no surprise that during this same period, the popularity of personal care products and cosmetics promising youthful glows and enhanced beauty has skyrocketed among all demographics, but particularly among young people (Alnuqaydan, 2024). A reported 90% of individuals use some form of personal care product every day (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Nevertheless, there is a dark side to the personal care industry of which most of the users are not aware; repeated exposure to many of the synthetic compounds present in self-care products may increase their risk of health complications compared to users of natural products (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Moreover, cumulative combined exposure to harmful chemicals found in many skin care products produce non-additive risks beyond what might be elicited from any single compound (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Skin creams and lotions touted to even skin tone, reduce acne, smooth wrinkles, and brighten dullness often contain compounds such as butylated hydroxyanisole (Kaushik et al. 2023), butylated hydroxytoluene (Balwierz et al., 2023), diazolidinyl urea (de Groot and Flyvholm, 2020), parabens and propylparabens (Alaba et al., 2022; Downs et al., 2023) and polyethylene glycols (Caballero et al., 2021) that can cause skin irritation, allergic reaction, and at their worst, hormone and endocrine disruption and cancer concerns (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Clearly more natural, and importantly safer, dermatological products are needed.
Many skin care products marketed largely to teenagers and young adults use harsh chemicals to sanitize the skin’s surface and aid in clearing acne. These products work in part by killing bacteria on the skin’s surface, however, many of these products fail to discriminate between the harmful skin-dwelling bacteria that cause irritation and the beneficial skin bacteria that stabilize the skin barrier. It seems that natural, plant-based dermatological alternatives are needed that discriminate between the type of bacteria they kill. The purpose of our work was to identify a plant extract that is gentle and safe for the skin, but that inhibits growth of harmful bacteria while simultaneously preserving beneficial skin bacteria.
Two species of bacteria were selected for this experiment. The first was Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive, typically commensal bacteria that colonizes the skin and/or nasal passage of around 30% of the population (Ryu et al., 2014). Harmful infections caused by S. aureus can occur if introduced into the bloodstream or through skin and wound infections, and can range from minor skin infections to abscesses, endocarditis, and sepsis (Ryu et al., 2014). The second was Staphylococcus epidermidis, a gram-positive bacterium that is widely considered a beneficial skin bacteria that helps maintain the skin barrier, ultimately preventing water loss and protecting against pathogens (Zheng et al., 2022; Qi et al., 2025), though Brown and Horswill (2020) provide a more nuanced interpretation. Four commercial plant extracts were chosen for this study due to their widespread availability, their popularity as anecdotal home remedies, and their ethnobotanical legacies: chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), cistus (Cistus ladanifer), white wormwood (Artemisia herba-alba Asso), and patchouli (Pogostemon cablin). Twelve replicates of each bacterium and extract treatment combination were established in a 2x4 factorial design (Fig. 1A) though one replicate in the white wormwood + S. epidermidis combination was discarded due to handler errors. Additional replicates of both S. aureus and S. epidermidis were plated with sterile water to serve as a negative control.
Negative controls confirmed that the two bacterial cultures we used grew as expected when not exposed to potential inhibitory extracts (Fig. 1B). Matricaria recutita was wholly ineffective against both S. aureus and S. epidermidis, with no observable zone of inhibition in any replicate (Fig. 1B). As such, treatment combinations including M. recutita were removed from statistical analyses. A two-way ANOVA using the remaining three extracts indicates that there is a differential response of inhibition based on bacterial species and extract type (Fig. 1C; FBxE = 10.570, p = 0.001), and while the remaining three extract types inhibited bacterial growth, generally, the patterns of inhibition differed based on the species of bacteria. There was no difference in the zone of inhibition between plates inoculated with S. aureus and S. epidermidis when exposed to A. herba-alba, and the same was true in exposure to P. cablin. Both extracts suppressed the growth of each of the two bacteria similarly. Artemisia herba-alba Asso was more effective at inhibiting growth of S. aureus than P. cablin, but their effect on S. epidermidis did not differ. Interestingly, C. ladanifer was unique among the chosen extracts in that it inhibited growth of the potentially harmful bacteria, S. aureus, to a much greater extent than it did the beneficial skin bacteria, S. epidermidis (Fig. 1B,C), which is the pattern of response we were seeking.
Other studies have demonstrated and described the effectiveness of C. ladanifer as an antimicrobial agent and have ascribed efficacy to the major secondary metabolites found therein, including viridiflorol, trans-pinocarveol, bornyl acetate, and ledol (Yashphe et al., 1979; Yashphe et al., 1987; Bertella et al., 2018; El Karkouri et al., 2021). These secondary metabolites act primarily by disrupting the bacterial membrane and inhibiting enzymes and metabolic pathways, among other mechanisms. What is less clear is how C. ladanifer differentially affects these two bacterial species; further work teasing apart the mechanisms behind this impact are needed. Additionally, prior work has shown that the chemical properties of this plant vary based on growing location, harvest time, and extraction type (El Karkouri et al., 2021; Kielar et al., 2025), and it is likely that efficacy will vary based on these factors. Additional work should focus on how these differences may impact the ability of C. ladanifer to differentially inhibit growth of different types of bacteria.
Nevertheless, the consensus that Cistus ladanifer is considered safe for human use (Kielar et al., 2025), combined with its demonstrated ability to selectively inhibit a potentially harmful bacterium while showing less activity against a beneficial skin bacterium, suggests that C. ladanifer may have potential promise as a safe and natural alternative to synthetic dermatological products.
","references":[{"reference":"Alaba PAA, Canete ED, Pantalan BSS, Taguba JMC, Yu LDI, Faller EM. 2022. Toxic effects of paraben and its relevance in cosmetics: A review. Int J Res, 3(5), 3425-66.
","pubmedId":"","doi":""},{"reference":"Alnuqaydan AM. 2024. The dark side of beauty: an in-depth analysis of the health hazards and toxicological impact of synthetic cosmetics and personal care products. Front Public Health 12: 1439027.
","pubmedId":"39253281","doi":""},{"reference":"Balwierz R, Biernat P, Jasińska-Balwierz A, Siodłak D, Kusakiewicz-Dawid A, Kurek-Górecka A, Olczyk P, Ochędzan-Siodłak W. 2023. Potential Carcinogens in Makeup Cosmetics. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20(6): 10.3390/ijerph20064780.
","pubmedId":"36981689","doi":""},{"reference":"Bertella A, Benlahcen K, Abouamama S, Pinto DCGA, Maamar K, Kihal M, Silva AMS. 2018. Artemisia herba-alba Asso. essential oil antibacterial activity and acute toxicity. Industrial Crops and Products 116: 137-143.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.02.064"},{"reference":"Brown MM, Horswill AR. 2020. Staphylococcus epidermidis-Skin friend or foe? PLoS Pathog 16(11): e1009026.
","pubmedId":"33180890","doi":""},{"reference":"Caballero ML, Krantz MS, Quirce S, Phillips EJ, Stone CA Jr. 2021. Hidden Dangers: Recognizing Excipients as Potential Causes of Drug and Vaccine Hypersensitivity Reactions. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 9(8): 2968-2982.
","pubmedId":"33737254","doi":""},{"reference":"de Groot AC, Flyvholm MA. 2019. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers. In Kanerva’s occupational dermatology (pp. 521-542). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
","pubmedId":"","doi":""},{"reference":"Downs CA, Amin MM, Tabatabaeian M, Chavoshani A, Amjadi E, Afshari A, Kelishadi R. 2023. Parabens preferentially accumulate in metastatic breast tumors compared to benign breast tumors and the association of breast cancer risk factors with paraben accumulation. Environmental Advances 11: 100325.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100325"},{"reference":"El Karkouri J, Bouhrim M, Al Kamaly OM, Mechchate H, Kchibale A, Adadi I, et al., Zair T. 2021. Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of the Essential Oil from Cistus ladanifer L. Plants (Basel) 10(10): 10.3390/plants10102068.
","pubmedId":"34685879","doi":""},{"reference":"Kaushik M, Farooq U, Ali MS, Ansari MJ, Iqbal Z, Mirza MA. 2023. Safety Concern and Regulatory Status of Chemicals Used in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products. Dermato 3: 131-157.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.3390/dermato3020011"},{"reference":"Kielar P, Kobylińska Z, Biesiadecki M, Mołoń M, Galiniak S. 2025. Biology, Antioxidant Activity, and Therapeutic Potential of Cistus sp.-A Comprehensive Review. Int J Mol Sci 26(13): 10.3390/ijms26136400.
","pubmedId":"40650177","doi":""},{"reference":"Ryu S, Song PI, Seo CH, Cheong H, Park Y. 2014. Colonization and infection of the skin by S. aureus: immune system evasion and the response to cationic antimicrobial peptides. Int J Mol Sci 15(5): 8753-72.
","pubmedId":"24840573","doi":""},{"reference":"Yashphe J, Segal R, Breuer A, Erdreich-Naftali G. 1979. Antibacterial activity of Artemisia herba-alba. J Pharm Sci 68(7): 924-5.
","pubmedId":"458619","doi":""},{"reference":"Yashphe J, Feuerstein I, Barel S, Segal R. 1987. The Antibacterial and Antispasmodic Activity ofArtemisia herba albaAsso. II. Examination of Essential Oils from Various Chemotypes. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 25: 89-96.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.3109/13880208709088133"}],"title":"Identification of a plant extract that differentially inhibits harmful and beneficial skin-dwelling bacteria","reviews":[{"reviewer":{"displayName":"Daniel Aruscavage"},"openAcknowledgement":null,"status":{"submitted":false}},{"reviewer":{"displayName":"Beth Potter"},"openAcknowledgement":false,"status":{"submitted":true}}],"curatorReviews":[]},{"id":"dd416ba6-a188-4469-bfdf-eef6929514a4","decision":"accept","abstract":"Many skin care products kill both harmful and beneficial skin bacteria. We tested four plant extracts to determine if any potentially harmful bacteria is targeted while preserving beneficial bacteria. Two bacterial species, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, were exposed to four commonly used extracts: Matricaria recutita, Cistus ladanifer, Pogostemon cablin, and Artemisia herba-alba. Matricaria recutita did not impact either bacterium. Pogostemon cablin and A. herba-alba inhibited both bacteria equally, whereas C. ladanifer strongly inhibited S. aureus while having a much weaker effect on S. epidermidis. Results suggest C. ladanifer may be a promising, safe natural ingredient for skin care products.
","acknowledgements":"Thank you to the West Chester University Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF) program for project support.
","authors":[{"affiliations":["West Chester University, West Chester, PA, United States"],"departments":["Biology"],"credit":["investigation","methodology","writing_reviewEditing","resources"],"email":"GMisquith@wcupa.edu","firstName":"Geraldine ","lastName":"Misquith","submittingAuthor":false,"correspondingAuthor":false,"equalContribution":false,"WBId":null,"orcid":null},{"affiliations":["West Chester University, West Chester, PA, United States"],"departments":["Chemistry"],"credit":["conceptualization","dataCuration","investigation","methodology","writing_reviewEditing"],"email":"IB1051153@wcupa.edu","firstName":"Ianna ","lastName":"Burke","submittingAuthor":false,"correspondingAuthor":false,"equalContribution":false,"WBId":null,"orcid":null},{"affiliations":["West Chester University, West Chester, PA, United States"],"departments":["Biology"],"credit":["conceptualization","dataCuration","formalAnalysis","investigation","methodology","project","resources","supervision","writing_originalDraft","writing_reviewEditing"],"email":"jchandler@wcupa.edu","firstName":"Jennifer ","lastName":"Chandler","submittingAuthor":true,"correspondingAuthor":true,"equalContribution":false,"WBId":null,"orcid":"0009-0002-5640-9991"}],"awards":[],"conflictsOfInterest":"The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.
","dataTable":{"url":null},"extendedData":[],"funding":"Thank you to the West Chester University Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF) program for providing undergraduate student Ianna Burke with a research stipend to support her time commitment on this project.
","image":{"url":"https://portal.micropublication.org/uploads/07f55cf5f2ab52ec268ba26600e7069c.jpg"},"imageCaption":"Figure 1A depicts the factorial design comparing inhibition among eight combinations of plant extract type and bacterial species. Figure 1B shows representative plates illustrating disk placement and zone of inhibition in both S. aureus and S. epidermidis exposed to discs soaked in sterile H2O, M. recutita, C. ladanifer, A. herba-alba Asso, and P. cablin. Figure 1C graphs mean zone of inhibition (mm2) as a function of plant extract type and bacterial species. Bars representing the mean zone of bacterial inhibition (mm2) of each treatment combination share the same letter if their means do not differ (p>0.05). Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
","imageTitle":"Experimental design, representative plates, and graphical display of the interactive effect of extract type and bacterial species on zone of inhibition
","methods":"Preparation of Culture Plates
Pure cultures of S. aureus and S. epidermidis were grown overnight at 37oC on non-selective tryptic soy agar (TSA) media plates to avoid atypical variants. A single colony of each culture was used to prepare a suspension medium using 5ml tryptic soy broth tubes overnight. Suspension density was adjusted to match a 0.5 McFarland turbidity standard. The prepared inoculants were used within 1hr to ensure viability. A swab method was used to inoculate Mueller-Hinton agar plates with each of the two cultures. The prepared, inoculated plates were sealed and stored in a 4oC refrigerator for one week prior to experimentation to accommodate breaks in the academic calendar. This one-week delay in experimentation ensured that researchers were on site to monitor the experiment daily.
Extract Application, Incubation, and Measurement of Inhibition
Plates were removed from cold storage after one week, and sterile paper discs (28.27mm2) were soaked in one of four extracts or sterile water. Sterilized forceps were used to place one disc in the center of each inoculated plate in a 2-way factorial design (Fig. 1A). Plates were incubated in a room temperature cabinet (approximately 21oC) for one week. The zone of inhibition (mm2) was calculated for each plate as the area of bacterial inhibition surrounding the disc, minus the area of the disc itself (Fig. 1B).
Statistical Analyses
Matricaria recutita did not have any inhibitory effect on S. aureus and S. epidermidis and was removed from the dataset to avoid an overabundance of zeros in the data. A square root data transformation was required to meet the assumption of normality of residuals (W = 0.985, p = 0.569). Homogeneity of variance was not met; however, ANOVA is robust to heteroscedasticity when designs are nearly balanced, which was the case in this study (Fig. 1A). As such, we proceeded with a two-way ANOVA with the response variable being the measured zone of inhibition (mm2), the first explanatory variable being the plant extract type, and the second explanatory variable being species of bacteria. A Tukey-HSD post hoc analysis was used to determine differences among means in the significant interaction term. Means and confidence intervals were back-transformed for presentation.
","reagents":"Name | Strain/Description | Concentration | Supplier | Catalog Number |
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus | NCTC 8532 [IAM 12544, R. Hugh 2605] | - | ATCC | Cat. No. 12600 |
Staphylococcus epidermidis | Fussel [NCTC 11047, R. Hugh 2466] | - | ATCC | Cat. No. 14990 |
Artemisia herba-alba | Steam distilled, Lot 14 | 100% pure essential oil - undiluted | Eden Botanicals | SKU 78-3 |
Cistus ladanifer | Steam distilled, Lot 7 | 100% pure essential oil - undiluted | Eden Botanicals | SKU 222-030 |
Pogostemon cablin | Steam distilled, Lot 21 | 100% pure essential oil - undiluted | Eden Botanicals | SKU 760-9 |
Matricaria recutita L. | Steam distilled, Lot 21 | 100% pure hydrosol (1% volatiles, 99% H2O | Eden Botanicals | SKU 1548-9 |
Within a single generation, social media and celebrity culture have driven women, men, and even children to strive for unrealistic physical “perfection.” It is no surprise that during this same period, the popularity of personal care products and cosmetics promising youthful glows and enhanced beauty has skyrocketed among all demographics, but particularly among young people (Alnuqaydan, 2024). A reported 90% of individuals use some form of personal care product every day (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Nevertheless, there is a dark side to the personal care industry of which most of the users are not aware; repeated exposure to many of the synthetic compounds present in self-care products may increase their risk of health complications compared to users of natural products (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Moreover, cumulative combined exposure to harmful chemicals found in many skin care products produce non-additive risks beyond what might be elicited from any single compound (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Skin creams and lotions touted to even skin tone, reduce acne, smooth wrinkles, and brighten dullness often contain compounds such as butylated hydroxyanisole (Kaushik et al. 2023), butylated hydroxytoluene (Balwierz et al., 2023), diazolidinyl urea (de Groot and Flyvholm, 2020), parabens and propylparabens (Alaba et al., 2022; Downs et al., 2023) and polyethylene glycols (Caballero et al., 2021) that can cause skin irritation, allergic reaction, and at their worst, hormone and endocrine disruption and cancer concerns (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Clearly more natural, and importantly safer, dermatological products are needed.
Many skin care products marketed largely to teenagers and young adults use harsh chemicals to sanitize the skin’s surface and aid in clearing acne. These products work in part by killing bacteria on the skin’s surface, however, many of these products fail to discriminate between the harmful skin-dwelling bacteria that cause irritation and the beneficial skin bacteria that stabilize the skin barrier. It seems that natural, plant-based dermatological alternatives are needed that discriminate between the type of bacteria they kill. The purpose of our work was to identify a plant extract that is gentle and safe for the skin, but that inhibits growth of harmful bacteria while simultaneously preserving beneficial skin bacteria.
Two species of bacteria were selected for this experiment. The first was Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive, typically commensal bacteria that colonizes the skin and/or nasal passage of around 30% of the population (Ryu et al., 2014). Harmful infections caused by S. aureus can occur if introduced into the bloodstream or through skin and wound infections, and can range from minor skin infections to abscesses, endocarditis, and sepsis (Ryu et al., 2014). The second was Staphylococcus epidermidis, a gram-positive bacterium that is widely considered a beneficial skin bacteria that helps maintain the skin barrier, ultimately preventing water loss and protecting against pathogens (Zheng et al., 2022; Qi et al., 2025), though Brown and Horswill (2020) provide a more nuanced interpretation. Four commercial plant extracts were chosen for this study due to their widespread availability, their popularity as anecdotal home remedies, and their ethnobotanical legacies: chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), cistus (Cistus ladanifer), white wormwood (Artemisia herba-alba Asso), and patchouli (Pogostemon cablin). Twelve replicates of each bacterium and extract treatment combination were established in a 2x4 factorial design (Fig. 1A) though one replicate in the white wormwood + S. epidermidis combination was discarded due to handler errors. Additional replicates of both S. aureus and S. epidermidis were plated with sterile water to serve as a negative control.
Negative controls confirmed that the two bacterial cultures we used grew as expected when not exposed to potential inhibitory extracts (Fig. 1B). Matricaria recutita was wholly ineffective against both S. aureus and S. epidermidis, with no observable zone of inhibition in any replicate (Fig. 1B). As such, treatment combinations including M. recutita were removed from statistical analyses. A two-way ANOVA using the remaining three extracts indicates that there is a differential response of inhibition based on bacterial species and extract type (Fig. 1C; FBxE = 10.570, p = 0.001), and while the remaining three extract types inhibited bacterial growth, generally, the patterns of inhibition differed based on the species of bacteria. There was no difference in the zone of inhibition between plates inoculated with S. aureus and S. epidermidis when exposed to A. herba-alba, and the same was true in exposure to P. cablin. Both extracts suppressed the growth of each of the two bacteria similarly. Artemisia herba-alba Asso was more effective at inhibiting growth of S. aureus than P. cablin, but their effect on S. epidermidis did not differ. Interestingly, C. ladanifer was unique among the chosen extracts in that it inhibited growth of the potentially harmful bacteria, S. aureus, to a much greater extent than it did the beneficial skin bacteria, S. epidermidis (Fig. 1B,C), which is the pattern of response we were seeking.
Other studies have demonstrated and described the effectiveness of C. ladanifer as an antimicrobial agent and have ascribed efficacy to the major secondary metabolites found therein, including viridiflorol, trans-pinocarveol, bornyl acetate, and ledol (Yashphe et al., 1979; Yashphe et al., 1987; Bertella et al., 2018; El Karkouri et al., 2021). These secondary metabolites act primarily by disrupting the bacterial membrane and inhibiting enzymes and metabolic pathways, among other mechanisms. What is less clear is how C. ladanifer differentially affects these two bacterial species; further work teasing apart the mechanisms behind this impact are needed. Additionally, prior work has shown that the chemical properties of this plant vary based on growing location, harvest time, and extraction type (El Karkouri et al., 2021; Kielar et al., 2025), and it is likely that efficacy will vary based on these factors. Additional work should focus on how these differences may impact the ability of C. ladanifer to differentially inhibit growth of different types of bacteria.
Nevertheless, the consensus that Cistus ladanifer is considered safe for human use (Kielar et al., 2025), combined with its demonstrated ability to selectively inhibit a potentially harmful bacterium while showing less activity against a beneficial skin bacterium, suggests that C. ladanifer may have potential promise as a safe and natural alternative to synthetic dermatological products.
","references":[{"reference":"Alaba PAA, Canete ED, Pantalan BSS, Taguba JMC, Yu LDI, Faller EM. 2022. Toxic effects of paraben and its relevance in cosmetics: A review. Int J Res, 3(5), 3425-66.
","pubmedId":"","doi":""},{"reference":"Alnuqaydan AM. 2024. The dark side of beauty: an in-depth analysis of the health hazards and toxicological impact of synthetic cosmetics and personal care products. Front Public Health 12: 1439027.
","pubmedId":"39253281","doi":""},{"reference":"Balwierz R, Biernat P, Jasińska-Balwierz A, Siodłak D, Kusakiewicz-Dawid A, Kurek-Górecka A, Olczyk P, Ochędzan-Siodłak W. 2023. Potential Carcinogens in Makeup Cosmetics. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20(6): 10.3390/ijerph20064780.
","pubmedId":"36981689","doi":""},{"reference":"Bertella A, Benlahcen K, Abouamama S, Pinto DCGA, Maamar K, Kihal M, Silva AMS. 2018. Artemisia herba-alba Asso. essential oil antibacterial activity and acute toxicity. Industrial Crops and Products 116: 137-143.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.02.064"},{"reference":"Brown MM, Horswill AR. 2020. Staphylococcus epidermidis-Skin friend or foe? PLoS Pathog 16(11): e1009026.
","pubmedId":"33180890","doi":""},{"reference":"Caballero ML, Krantz MS, Quirce S, Phillips EJ, Stone CA Jr. 2021. Hidden Dangers: Recognizing Excipients as Potential Causes of Drug and Vaccine Hypersensitivity Reactions. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 9(8): 2968-2982.
","pubmedId":"33737254","doi":""},{"reference":"de Groot AC, Flyvholm MA. 2019. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers. In Kanerva’s occupational dermatology (pp. 521-542). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
","pubmedId":"","doi":""},{"reference":"Downs CA, Amin MM, Tabatabaeian M, Chavoshani A, Amjadi E, Afshari A, Kelishadi R. 2023. Parabens preferentially accumulate in metastatic breast tumors compared to benign breast tumors and the association of breast cancer risk factors with paraben accumulation. Environmental Advances 11: 100325.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100325"},{"reference":"El Karkouri J, Bouhrim M, Al Kamaly OM, Mechchate H, Kchibale A, Adadi I, et al., Zair T. 2021. Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of the Essential Oil from Cistus ladanifer L. Plants (Basel) 10(10): 10.3390/plants10102068.
","pubmedId":"34685879","doi":""},{"reference":"Kaushik M, Farooq U, Ali MS, Ansari MJ, Iqbal Z, Mirza MA. 2023. Safety Concern and Regulatory Status of Chemicals Used in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products. Dermato 3: 131-157.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.3390/dermato3020011"},{"reference":"Kielar P, Kobylińska Z, Biesiadecki M, Mołoń M, Galiniak S. 2025. Biology, Antioxidant Activity, and Therapeutic Potential of Cistus sp.-A Comprehensive Review. Int J Mol Sci 26(13): 10.3390/ijms26136400.
","pubmedId":"40650177","doi":""},{"reference":"Ryu S, Song PI, Seo CH, Cheong H, Park Y. 2014. Colonization and infection of the skin by S. aureus: immune system evasion and the response to cationic antimicrobial peptides. Int J Mol Sci 15(5): 8753-72.
","pubmedId":"24840573","doi":""},{"reference":"Yashphe J, Segal R, Breuer A, Erdreich-Naftali G. 1979. Antibacterial activity of Artemisia herba-alba. J Pharm Sci 68(7): 924-5.
","pubmedId":"458619","doi":""},{"reference":"Yashphe J, Feuerstein I, Barel S, Segal R. 1987. The Antibacterial and Antispasmodic Activity ofArtemisia herba albaAsso. II. Examination of Essential Oils from Various Chemotypes. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 25: 89-96.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.3109/13880208709088133"}],"title":"Identification of a plant extract that differentially inhibits harmful and beneficial skin-dwelling bacteria","reviews":[],"curatorReviews":[]},{"id":"a6981d21-f34c-44e2-98c8-daecc337c215","decision":"publish","abstract":"Many skin care products kill both harmful and beneficial skin bacteria. We tested four plant extracts to determine if any potentially harmful bacteria is targeted while preserving beneficial bacteria. Two bacterial species, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, were exposed to four commonly used extracts: Matricaria recutita, Cistus ladanifer, Pogostemon cablin, and Artemisia herba-alba. Matricaria recutita did not impact either bacterium. Pogostemon cablin and A. herba-alba inhibited both bacteria equally, whereas C. ladanifer strongly inhibited S. aureus while having a much weaker effect on S. epidermidis. Results suggest C. ladanifer may be a promising, safe natural ingredient for skin care products.
","acknowledgements":"Thank you to the West Chester University Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF) program for project support.
","authors":[{"affiliations":["West Chester University, West Chester, PA, United States"],"departments":["Biology"],"credit":["investigation","methodology","writing_reviewEditing","resources"],"email":"GMisquith@wcupa.edu","firstName":"Geraldine ","lastName":"Misquith","submittingAuthor":false,"correspondingAuthor":false,"equalContribution":false,"WBId":null,"orcid":null},{"affiliations":["West Chester University, West Chester, PA, United States"],"departments":["Chemistry"],"credit":["conceptualization","dataCuration","investigation","methodology","writing_reviewEditing"],"email":"IB1051153@wcupa.edu","firstName":"Ianna ","lastName":"Burke","submittingAuthor":false,"correspondingAuthor":false,"equalContribution":false,"WBId":null,"orcid":null},{"affiliations":["West Chester University, West Chester, PA, United States"],"departments":["Biology"],"credit":["conceptualization","dataCuration","formalAnalysis","investigation","methodology","project","resources","supervision","writing_originalDraft","writing_reviewEditing"],"email":"jchandler@wcupa.edu","firstName":"Jennifer ","lastName":"Chandler","submittingAuthor":true,"correspondingAuthor":true,"equalContribution":false,"WBId":null,"orcid":"0009-0002-5640-9991"}],"awards":[],"conflictsOfInterest":"The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.
","dataTable":{"url":null},"extendedData":[],"funding":"Thank you to the West Chester University Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF) program for providing undergraduate student Ianna Burke with a research stipend to support her time commitment on this project.
","image":{"url":"https://portal.micropublication.org/uploads/07f55cf5f2ab52ec268ba26600e7069c.jpg"},"imageCaption":"Figure 1A depicts the factorial design comparing inhibition among eight combinations of plant extract type and bacterial species. Figure 1B shows representative plates illustrating disk placement and zone of inhibition in both S. aureus and S. epidermidis exposed to discs soaked in sterile H2O, M. recutita, C. ladanifer, A. herba-alba Asso, and P. cablin. Figure 1C graphs mean zone of inhibition (mm2) as a function of plant extract type and bacterial species. Bars representing the mean zone of bacterial inhibition (mm2) of each treatment combination share the same letter if their means do not differ (p>0.05). Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
","imageTitle":"Experimental design, representative plates, and graphical display of the interactive effect of extract type and bacterial species on zone of inhibition
","methods":"Preparation of Culture Plates
Pure cultures of S. aureus and S. epidermidis were grown overnight at 37oC on non-selective tryptic soy agar (TSA) media plates to avoid atypical variants. A single colony of each culture was used to prepare a suspension medium using 5ml tryptic soy broth tubes overnight. Suspension density was adjusted to match a 0.5 McFarland turbidity standard. The prepared inoculants were used within 1hr to ensure viability. A swab method was used to inoculate Mueller-Hinton agar plates with each of the two cultures. The prepared, inoculated plates were sealed and stored in a 4oC refrigerator for one week prior to experimentation to accommodate breaks in the academic calendar. This one-week delay in experimentation ensured that researchers were on site to monitor the experiment daily.
Extract Application, Incubation, and Measurement of Inhibition
Plates were removed from cold storage after one week, and sterile paper discs (28.27mm2) were soaked in one of four extracts or sterile water. Sterilized forceps were used to place one disc in the center of each inoculated plate in a 2-way factorial design (Fig. 1A). Plates were incubated in a room temperature cabinet (approximately 21oC) for one week. The zone of inhibition (mm2) was calculated for each plate as the area of bacterial inhibition surrounding the disc, minus the area of the disc itself (Fig. 1B).
Statistical Analyses
Matricaria recutita did not have any inhibitory effect on S. aureus and S. epidermidis and was removed from the dataset to avoid an overabundance of zeros in the data. A square root data transformation was required to meet the assumption of normality of residuals (W = 0.985, p = 0.569). Homogeneity of variance was not met; however, ANOVA is robust to heteroscedasticity when designs are nearly balanced, which was the case in this study (Fig. 1A). As such, we proceeded with a two-way ANOVA with the response variable being the measured zone of inhibition (mm2), the first explanatory variable being the plant extract type, and the second explanatory variable being species of bacteria. A Tukey-HSD post hoc analysis was used to determine differences among means in the significant interaction term. Means and confidence intervals were back-transformed for presentation.
","reagents":"Name | Strain/Description | Concentration | Supplier | Catalog Number |
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus | NCTC 8532 [IAM 12544, R. Hugh 2605] | - | ATCC | Cat. No. 12600 |
Staphylococcus epidermidis | Fussel [NCTC 11047, R. Hugh 2466] | - | ATCC | Cat. No. 14990 |
Artemisia herba-alba | Steam distilled, Lot 14 | 100% pure essential oil - undiluted | Eden Botanicals | SKU 78-3 |
Cistus ladanifer | Steam distilled, Lot 7 | 100% pure essential oil - undiluted | Eden Botanicals | SKU 222-030 |
Pogostemon cablin | Steam distilled, Lot 21 | 100% pure essential oil - undiluted | Eden Botanicals | SKU 760-9 |
Matricaria recutita L. | Steam distilled, Lot 21 | 100% pure hydrosol (1% volatiles, 99% H2O | Eden Botanicals | SKU 1548-9 |
Within a single generation, social media and celebrity culture have driven women, men, and even children to strive for unrealistic physical “perfection.” It is no surprise that during this same period, the popularity of personal care products and cosmetics promising youthful glows and enhanced beauty has skyrocketed among all demographics, but particularly among young people (Alnuqaydan, 2024). A reported 90% of individuals use some form of personal care product every day (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Nevertheless, there is a dark side to the personal care industry of which most of the users are not aware; repeated exposure to many of the synthetic compounds present in self-care products may increase their risk of health complications compared to users of natural products (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Moreover, cumulative combined exposure to harmful chemicals found in many skin care products produce non-additive risks beyond what might be elicited from any single compound (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Skin creams and lotions touted to even skin tone, reduce acne, smooth wrinkles, and brighten dullness often contain compounds such as butylated hydroxyanisole (Kaushik et al. 2023), butylated hydroxytoluene (Balwierz et al., 2023), diazolidinyl urea (de Groot and Flyvholm, 2020), parabens and propylparabens (Alaba et al., 2022; Downs et al., 2023) and polyethylene glycols (Caballero et al., 2021) that can cause skin irritation, allergic reaction, and at their worst, hormone and endocrine disruption and cancer concerns (Alnuqaydan, 2024). Clearly more natural, and importantly safer, dermatological products are needed.
Many skin care products marketed largely to teenagers and young adults use harsh chemicals to sanitize the skin’s surface and aid in clearing acne. These products work in part by killing bacteria on the skin’s surface, however, many of these products fail to discriminate between the harmful skin-dwelling bacteria that cause irritation and the beneficial skin bacteria that stabilize the skin barrier. It seems that natural, plant-based dermatological alternatives are needed that discriminate between the type of bacteria they kill. The purpose of our work was to identify a plant extract that is gentle and safe for the skin, but that inhibits growth of harmful bacteria while simultaneously preserving beneficial skin bacteria.
Two species of bacteria were selected for this experiment. The first was Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive, typically commensal bacteria that colonizes the skin and/or nasal passage of around 30% of the population (Ryu et al., 2014). Harmful infections caused by S. aureus can occur if introduced into the bloodstream or through skin and wound infections, and can range from minor skin infections to abscesses, endocarditis, and sepsis (Ryu et al., 2014). The second was Staphylococcus epidermidis, a gram-positive bacterium that is widely considered a beneficial skin bacteria that helps maintain the skin barrier, ultimately preventing water loss and protecting against pathogens (Zheng et al., 2022; Qi et al., 2025), though Brown and Horswill (2020) provide a more nuanced interpretation. Four commercial plant extracts were chosen for this study due to their widespread availability, their popularity as anecdotal home remedies, and their ethnobotanical legacies: chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), cistus (Cistus ladanifer), white wormwood (Artemisia herba-alba Asso), and patchouli (Pogostemon cablin). Twelve replicates of each bacterium and extract treatment combination were established in a 2x4 factorial design (Fig. 1A) though one replicate in the white wormwood + S. epidermidis combination was discarded due to handler errors. Additional replicates of both S. aureus and S. epidermidis were plated with sterile water to serve as a negative control.
Negative controls confirmed that the two bacterial cultures we used grew as expected when not exposed to potential inhibitory extracts (Fig. 1B). Matricaria recutita was wholly ineffective against both S. aureus and S. epidermidis, with no observable zone of inhibition in any replicate (Fig. 1B). As such, treatment combinations including M. recutita were removed from statistical analyses. A two-way ANOVA using the remaining three extracts indicates that there is a differential response of inhibition based on bacterial species and extract type (Fig. 1C; FBxE = 10.570, p = 0.001), and while the remaining three extract types inhibited bacterial growth, generally, the patterns of inhibition differed based on the species of bacteria. There was no difference in the zone of inhibition between plates inoculated with S. aureus and S. epidermidis when exposed to A. herba-alba, and the same was true in exposure to P. cablin. Both extracts suppressed the growth of each of the two bacteria similarly. Artemisia herba-alba Asso was more effective at inhibiting growth of S. aureus than P. cablin, but their effect on S. epidermidis did not differ. Interestingly, C. ladanifer was unique among the chosen extracts in that it inhibited growth of the potentially harmful bacteria, S. aureus, to a much greater extent than it did the beneficial skin bacteria, S. epidermidis (Fig. 1B,C), which is the pattern of response we were seeking.
Other studies have demonstrated and described the effectiveness of C. ladanifer as an antimicrobial agent and have ascribed efficacy to the major secondary metabolites found therein, including viridiflorol, trans-pinocarveol, bornyl acetate, and ledol (Yashphe et al., 1979; Yashphe et al., 1987; Bertella et al., 2018; El Karkouri et al., 2021). These secondary metabolites act primarily by disrupting the bacterial membrane and inhibiting enzymes and metabolic pathways, among other mechanisms. What is less clear is how C. ladanifer differentially affects these two bacterial species; further work teasing apart the mechanisms behind this impact are needed. Additionally, prior work has shown that the chemical properties of this plant vary based on growing location, harvest time, and extraction type (El Karkouri et al., 2021; Kielar et al., 2025), and it is likely that efficacy will vary based on these factors. Additional work should focus on how these differences may impact the ability of C. ladanifer to differentially inhibit growth of different types of bacteria.
Nevertheless, the consensus that Cistus ladanifer is considered safe for human use (Kielar et al., 2025), combined with its demonstrated ability to selectively inhibit a potentially harmful bacterium while showing less activity against a beneficial skin bacterium, suggests that C. ladanifer may have potential promise as a safe and natural alternative to synthetic dermatological products.
","references":[{"reference":"Alaba PAA, Canete ED, Pantalan BSS, Taguba JMC, Yu LDI, Faller EM. 2022. Toxic effects of paraben and its relevance in cosmetics: A review. Int J Res, 3(5), 3425-66.
","pubmedId":"","doi":""},{"reference":"Alnuqaydan AM. 2024. The dark side of beauty: an in-depth analysis of the health hazards and toxicological impact of synthetic cosmetics and personal care products. Front Public Health 12: 1439027.
","pubmedId":"39253281","doi":""},{"reference":"Balwierz R, Biernat P, Jasińska-Balwierz A, Siodłak D, Kusakiewicz-Dawid A, Kurek-Górecka A, Olczyk P, Ochędzan-Siodłak W. 2023. Potential Carcinogens in Makeup Cosmetics. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20(6): 10.3390/ijerph20064780.
","pubmedId":"36981689","doi":""},{"reference":"Bertella A, Benlahcen K, Abouamama S, Pinto DCGA, Maamar K, Kihal M, Silva AMS. 2018. Artemisia herba-alba Asso. essential oil antibacterial activity and acute toxicity. Industrial Crops and Products 116: 137-143.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.02.064"},{"reference":"Brown MM, Horswill AR. 2020. Staphylococcus epidermidis-Skin friend or foe? PLoS Pathog 16(11): e1009026.
","pubmedId":"33180890","doi":""},{"reference":"Caballero ML, Krantz MS, Quirce S, Phillips EJ, Stone CA Jr. 2021. Hidden Dangers: Recognizing Excipients as Potential Causes of Drug and Vaccine Hypersensitivity Reactions. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 9(8): 2968-2982.
","pubmedId":"33737254","doi":""},{"reference":"de Groot AC, Flyvholm MA. 2019. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers. In Kanerva’s occupational dermatology (pp. 521-542). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
","pubmedId":"","doi":""},{"reference":"Downs CA, Amin MM, Tabatabaeian M, Chavoshani A, Amjadi E, Afshari A, Kelishadi R. 2023. Parabens preferentially accumulate in metastatic breast tumors compared to benign breast tumors and the association of breast cancer risk factors with paraben accumulation. Environmental Advances 11: 100325.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100325"},{"reference":"El Karkouri J, Bouhrim M, Al Kamaly OM, Mechchate H, Kchibale A, Adadi I, et al., Zair T. 2021. Chemical Composition, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of the Essential Oil from Cistus ladanifer L. Plants (Basel) 10(10): 10.3390/plants10102068.
","pubmedId":"34685879","doi":""},{"reference":"Kaushik M, Farooq U, Ali MS, Ansari MJ, Iqbal Z, Mirza MA. 2023. Safety Concern and Regulatory Status of Chemicals Used in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products. Dermato 3: 131-157.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.3390/dermato3020011"},{"reference":"Kielar P, Kobylińska Z, Biesiadecki M, Mołoń M, Galiniak S. 2025. Biology, Antioxidant Activity, and Therapeutic Potential of Cistus sp.-A Comprehensive Review. Int J Mol Sci 26(13): 10.3390/ijms26136400.
","pubmedId":"40650177","doi":""},{"reference":"Ryu S, Song PI, Seo CH, Cheong H, Park Y. 2014. Colonization and infection of the skin by S. aureus: immune system evasion and the response to cationic antimicrobial peptides. Int J Mol Sci 15(5): 8753-72.
","pubmedId":"24840573","doi":""},{"reference":"Yashphe J, Segal R, Breuer A, Erdreich-Naftali G. 1979. Antibacterial activity of Artemisia herba-alba. J Pharm Sci 68(7): 924-5.
","pubmedId":"458619","doi":""},{"reference":"Yashphe J, Feuerstein I, Barel S, Segal R. 1987. The Antibacterial and Antispasmodic Activity ofArtemisia herba albaAsso. II. Examination of Essential Oils from Various Chemotypes. International Journal of Crude Drug Research 25: 89-96.
","pubmedId":"","doi":"10.3109/13880208709088133"}],"title":"Identification of a plant extract that differentially inhibits harmful and beneficial skin-dwelling bacteria","reviews":[],"curatorReviews":[]}]}},"species":{"species":[{"value":"acer saccharum","label":"Acer saccharum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"TreeGenes","modLink":"https://treegenesdb.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"achillea millefolium","label":"Achillea millefolium","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"acinetobacter baylyi","label":"Acinetobacter baylyi","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"actinobacteria bacterium","label":"Actinobacteria bacterium","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"adelges tsugae","label":"Adelges tsugae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"adenocaulon chilense","label":"Adenocaulon chilense","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"aedes japonicus","label":"Aedes japonicus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"aegorhinus vitulus","label":"Aegorhinus vitulus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"aerococcus","label":"Aerococcus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"alaimidae","label":"Alaimidae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"allobates femoralis","label":"Allobates femoralis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"alnus glutinosa","label":"Alnus glutinosa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"alosa aestivalis","label":"Alosa aestivalis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"alosa pseudoharengus","label":"Alosa pseudoharengus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"alternaria alternata","label":"Alternaria alternata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"amynthas agrestis","label":"Amynthas Agrestis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ancylostoma caninum","label":"Ancylostoma caninum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ancylostoma ceylanicum","label":"Ancylostoma ceylanicum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"anemone multifida","label":"Anemone multifida","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"anguilla rostrata","label":"Anguilla rostrata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"anisakis simplex","label":"Anisakis simplex","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"anomala albopilosa","label":"Anomala albopilosa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"anthomyiidae sp","label":"Anthomyiidae sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"anthomyiidae sp","label":"Anthomyiidae sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"arabidopsis","label":"Arabidopsis","imageSrc":"arabidopsis.png","imageAlt":"Arabidopsis graphic by Zoe Zorn CC BY 4.0","mod":"TAIR","modLink":"https://arabidopsis.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"architeuthis dux","label":"Architeuthis dux","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"arion vulgaris","label":"Arion vulgaris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"armeria","label":"Armeria","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"artemia","label":"Artemia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"arthrobacter sp.","label":"Arthrobacter sp.","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ascaridia","label":"Ascaridia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ascaridia galli","label":"Ascaridia galli","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"asparagopsis taxiformis","label":"Asparagopsis taxiformis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"astatotilapia burtoni","label":"Astatotilapia burtoni","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"avena sativa","label":"Avena sativa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"aves","label":"Aves","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus","label":"Bacillus (firmicutes)","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus cereus","label":"Bacillus cereus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus mycoides","label":"Bacillus mycoides","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus subtilis","label":"Bacillus subtilis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus thuringiensis","label":"Bacillus thuringiensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus toyonensis","label":"Bacillus toyonensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacillus wiedmannii","label":"Bacillus wiedmannii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacteria","label":"Bacteria","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bacteriophage","label":"Bacteriophage","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bactrocera","label":"Bactrocera sp.","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"batrachospermum gelatinosum","label":"Batrachospermum gelatinosum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"betula lenta","label":"Betula lenta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"betula nigra","label":"Betula nigra","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bombus dahlbohmii","label":"Bombus dahlbohmii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bombus terrestris","label":"Bombus terrestris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bombyx mori","label":"Bombyx mori","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bos taurus","label":"Bos Taurus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"brachygobius doriae","label":"Brachygobius doriae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"brassica oleracea","label":"Brassica oleracea","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"brassica rapa","label":"Brassica rapa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"brugia malayi","label":"Brugia malayi","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"burkholderia thailandensis","label":"Burkholderia thailandensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"buttiauxella","label":"Buttiauxella","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis brenneri","label":"Caenorhabditis brenneri","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis briggsae","label":"Caenorhabditis briggsae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"c. elegans","label":"Caenorhabditis elegans","imageSrc":"c-elegans.jpg","imageAlt":"C. elegans graphic by Zoe Zorn CC BY 4.0","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"https://wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis inopinata","label":"Caenorhabditis inopinata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis japonica","label":"Caenorhabditis japonica","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis nigoni","label":"Caenorhabditis nigoni","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis remanei","label":"Caenorhabditis remanei","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caenorhabditis tropicalis","label":"Caenorhabditis tropicalis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"calidifontibacillus","label":"Calidifontibacillus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"calidifontibacillus erzuremensis","label":"Calidifontibacillus erzuremensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"calliphora sp","label":"Calliphora sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caltha sagittata","label":"Caltha sagittata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cambarus latimanus","label":"Cambarus latimanus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"candida albicans","label":"Candida albicans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"canis familiaris","label":"Canis familiaris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cannabis sativa","label":"Cannabis sativa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caretta caretta","label":"Caretta caretta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cassiopea xamachana","label":"Cassiopea xamachana","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"caulobacter vibrioides","label":"Caulobacter vibrioides","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cephalopods","label":"Cephalopoda","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cerastium arvense","label":"Cerastium arvense","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ceriodaphnia","label":"Ceriodaphnia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ceroglossus suturalis","label":"Ceroglossus suturalis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chaetoceros","label":"Chaetoceros","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chamaecrista fasciculata","label":"Chamaecrista fasciculata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chilicola chalcidiformis","label":"Chilicola chalcidiformis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chitinimonas","label":"Chitinimonas","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chlamydomonas reinhardtii","label":"Chlamydomonas reinhardtii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chromobacterium","label":"Chromobacterium","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chrysemys picta","label":"Chrysemys picta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"chrysoperla rufilabris","label":"Chrysoperla rufilabris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"citrus","label":"Citrus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"clavibacter sp.","label":"Clavibacter sp.","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"colinus virginianus","label":"Colinus virginianus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"crassostrea virginica","label":"Crassostrea virginica","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"crithidia fasciculata","label":"Crithidia fasciculata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cutibacterium acnes","label":"Cutibacterium acnes","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"cyanobacteria","label":"Cyanobacteria","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"daphnia","label":"Daphnia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"daphnia pulex","label":"Daphnia pulex","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"dermacoccus nishinomiyaensis","label":"Dermacoccus nishinomiyaensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"diabrotica virgifera","label":"Diabrotica virgifera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"diabrotica virgifera virgifera virus 1","label":"Diabrotica virgifera virgifera virus 1","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"d. discoideum","label":"Dictyostelium discoideum","imageSrc":"dicty.png","imageAlt":"D. discoideum","mod":"dictyBase","modLink":"http://dictybase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"diptera","label":"Diptera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"dotocryptus bellicosus","label":"Dotocryptus bellicosus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"drechmeria coniospora","label":"Drechmeria coniospora","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"drosophila","label":"Drosophila","imageSrc":"drosophila.png","imageAlt":"Drosophila graphic by Zoe Zorn CC BY 4.0","mod":"FlyBase","modLink":"https://flybase.org/doi/","linkVariable":"doi"},{"value":"dryopteris campyloptera","label":"Dryopteris campyloptera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"dryopteris expansa","label":"Dryopteris expansa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"dryopteris intermedia","label":"Dryopteris intermedia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"dugesia dorotocephala","label":"Dugesia dorotocephala","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"elasmobranchii","label":"Elasmobranchii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"embryophyta","label":"Embryophyta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"enoploteuthis chunii","label":"Enoploteuthis chunii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"enterobacter aerogenes","label":"Enterobacter aerogenes","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"enterococcus raffinosus","label":"Enterococcus raffinosus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"epichloë coenophiala","label":"Epichloë coenophiala","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"equus caballus","label":"Equus caballus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"erigeron sp","label":"Erigeron sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"eristalis","label":"Eristalis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"eruca vesicaria","label":"Eruca vesicaria","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"erwinia carotovora","label":"Erwinia carotovora","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"erythronium americanum","label":"Erythronium americanum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"escherichia coli","label":"Escherichia coli","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"eukaryota","label":"Eukaryotes","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"felis catus","label":"Felis catus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"francisella novicida","label":"Francisella novicida","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"francisella tularensis","label":"Francisella tularensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"fraxinus americana","label":"Fraxinus americana","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"fucus distichus","label":"Fucus distichus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"fungi","label":"Fungi","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"gasteropelecus sp.","label":"Gasteropelecus sp.","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"geranium sp","label":"Geranium sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"girardia","label":"Girardia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"glaucomys volans","label":"Glaucomys volans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"glycine max","label":"Glycine max","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Soybase","modLink":"https://soybase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"glyptemys insculpta","label":"Glyptemys insculpta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"gossypium hirsutum","label":"Gossypium hirsutum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"CottonGen","modLink":"https://www.cottongen.org/","linkVariable":""},{"value":"gromphadorhina portentosa","label":"Gromphadorhina portentosa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"gryllodes sigillatus","label":"Gryllodes sigillatus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"haliotis rufescens","label":"Haliotis rufescens","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"hepacivirus hominis","label":"Hepatitis C Virus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"herpes simplex virus type 1","label":"Herpes simplex virus type 1","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"human","label":"Human","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"human coronavirus oc43","label":"Human coronavirus OC43","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"hydra vulgaris","label":"Hydra vulgaris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"hydropsyche sp","label":"Hydropsyche sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"hymenoptera","label":"Hymenoptera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Hymenoptera Genome Database","modLink":"https://hymenoptera.elsiklab.missouri.edu/","linkVariable":""},{"value":"hypochaeris radicata","label":"Hypochaeris radicata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"hypodynerus vespiformis","label":"Hypodynerus vespiformis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"iflaviridae","label":"Iflaviridae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"iflavuris","label":"Iflavirus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ipomoea hederacea","label":"Ipomoea hederacea","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ischnomera","label":"Ischnomera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ischnomera ruficollis","label":"Ischnomera ruficollis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"julidochromis marlieri","label":"Julidochromis marlieri","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"juniperus virginiana","label":"Juniperus virginiana","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"kluyveromyces marxianus","label":"Kluyveromyces marxianus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"l. casei","label":"L. casei","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lacticaseibacillus casei","label":"Lacticaseibacillus casei","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lactobacillus","label":"Lactobacillus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"larentiinae sp","label":"Larentiinae sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"laurus nobilis","label":"Laurus nobilis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lepidoptera","label":"Lepidoptera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"leucanthemum vulgare","label":"Leucanthemum vulgare","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ligilactobacillus","label":"Ligilactobacillus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ligilactobacillus salivarius","label":"Ligilactobacillus salivarius","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"limosilactobacillus","label":"Limosilactobacillus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"linepithema humile","label":"Linepithema humile","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"liometopum occidentale","label":"Liometopum occidentale","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lolium arundinaceum","label":"Lolium arundinaceum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lontra longicaudis","label":"Lontra longicaudis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lumbriculus variegatus","label":"Lumbriculus variegatus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lumbricus terrestris","label":"Lumbricus terrestris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lupinus polyphyllus","label":"Lupinus polyphyllus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lycorma delicatula","label":"Lycorma delicatula","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"lynx rufus","label":"Lynx rufus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"magnaporthe oryzae","label":"Magnaporthe oryzae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"mammalia","label":"Mammalia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"manihot esculenta","label":"Manihot esculenta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"medicago lupulina","label":"Medicago lupulina","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"meloidogyne","label":"Meloidogyne","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"mimus polyglottos","label":"Mimus polyglottos","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"bryophyta","label":"Mosses","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"mouse","label":"Mouse","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"MGI","modLink":"https://informatics.jax.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"m. minutoides","label":"Mus minutoides","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"mycobacterium smegmatis","label":"Mycobacterium smegmatis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"nakaseomyces glabratus","label":"Nakaseomyces glabratus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"nauphoeta cinerea","label":"Nauphoeta cinerea","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"neurospora","label":"Neurospora","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"n. benthamiana","label":"Nicotiana benthamiana","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Solgenomics Network","modLink":"https://solgenomics.net/organism/Nicotiana_benthamiana/genome","linkVariable":""},{"value":"nicotiana tabacum","label":"Nicotiana tabacum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"noctuidae","label":"Noctuidae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"noctuidae sp","label":"Noctuidae sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"nothobranchius furzeri","label":"Nothobranchius furzeri","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"onchocerca volvulus","label":"Onchocerca volvulus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"orconectes virilis","label":"Orconectes virilis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ormia ochracea","label":"Ormia ochracea","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"o. sativa","label":"Oryza sativa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Gramene","modLink":"https://www.gramene.org/","linkVariable":""},{"value":"other","label":"Other","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":null,"modLink":null,"linkVariable":null},{"value":"oxalis enneaphylla","label":"Oxalis enneaphylla","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans","label":"Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans","label":"Paenarthrobacter nicotinovorans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pantoea","label":"Pantoea","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pantoea agglomerans","label":"Pantoea agglomerans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"papaver sp","label":"Papaver sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"paramecium bursaria","label":"Paramecium bursaria","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"partitiviridae","label":"Partitiviridae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pelodiscus sinensis","label":"Pelodiscus sinensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"perezia recurvata","label":"Perezia recurvata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"petromyzon marinus","label":"Petromyzon marinus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"photinus pyralis","label":"Photinus pyralis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"photinus pyralis associated partiti-like virus","label":"Photinus pyralis associated partiti-like virus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"photinus pyralis iflavirus 1","label":"Photinus pyralis iflavirus 1","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"physcomitrium patens","label":"Physcomitrium patens","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pinus strobus","label":"Pinus strobus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pinus taeda","label":"Pinus taeda","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"platycheirus","label":"Platycheirus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"plectus sambesii","label":"Plectus sambesii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pogonomyrmex occidentalis","label":"Pogonomyrmex occidentalis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"poncirus trifoliata","label":"Poncirus trifoliata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"populus deltoides","label":"Populus deltoides","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"potato virus y","label":"Potato virus Y","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"primula magellanica","label":"Primula magellanica","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pristionchus pacificus","label":"Pristionchus pacificus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"prunus persica","label":"Prunus persica","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Genome Database for Rosaceae","modLink":"https://www.rosaceae.org/","linkVariable":""},{"value":"psalmopoeus iriminia","label":"Psalmopoeus iriminia","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pseudanabaena sp.","label":"Pseudanabaena sp.","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pseudomonas","label":"Pseudomonas","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pseudomonas aeruginosa","label":"Pseudomonas aeruginosa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pseudomonas glycinae","label":"Pseudomonas glycinae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pseudomonas putida","label":"Pseudomonas putida","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pseudomonas syringae","label":"Pseudomonas syringae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"pterophyllum scalare","label":"Pterophyllum scalare","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"python regius","label":"Python regius","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"quercus macrocarpa","label":"Quercus macrocarpa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ralstonia solanacearum","label":"Ralstonia solanacearum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ranitomeya imitator","label":"Ranitomeya imitator","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ranunculus peduncularis","label":"Ranunculus peduncularis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"rat","label":"Rat","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"RGD","modLink":"https://rgd.mcw.edu","linkVariable":""},{"value":"rheinheimera","label":"Rheinheimera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ribes rubrum","label":"Ribes rubrum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"sars-cov-2","label":"SARS-CoV-2","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"s. cerevisiae","label":"Saccharomyces cerevisiae","imageSrc":"yeast.png","imageAlt":"Yeast graphic by Zoe Zorn CC BY 4.0","mod":"SGD","modLink":"https://yeastgenome.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"saccharomyces paradoxus","label":"Saccharomyces paradoxus ","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"s. uvarum","label":"Saccharomyces uvarum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"schistosoma","label":"Schistosoma","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"schizosaccharomyces japonicus","label":"Schizosaccharomyces japonicus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"s. pombe","label":"Schizosaccharomyces pombe","imageSrc":"pombe.png","imageAlt":"Pombe graphic by Zoe Zorn © Caltech","mod":"PomBase","modLink":"https://www.pombase.org/reference/PMID:","linkVariable":"pmId"},{"value":"schmidtea mediterranea","label":"Schmidtea mediterranea","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"senecio sp","label":"Senecio sp","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"simocephalus","label":"Simocephalus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"siraitia grosvenorii","label":"Siraitia grosvenorii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"solanum lycopersicum","label":"Solanum lycopersicum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Solgenomics Network","modLink":"https://solgenomics.net/organism/1/view/","linkVariable":""},{"value":"sorghum","label":"Sorghum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"SorghumBase","modLink":"https://www.sorghumbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"spiroplasma eriocheiris","label":"Spiroplasma eriocheiris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"staphylococcus aureus","label":"Staphylococcus aureus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"staphylococcus epidermidis","label":"Staphylococcus epidermidis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"steinernema carpocapsae","label":"Steinernema carpocapsae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"https://wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"steinernema hermaphroditum","label":"Steinernema hermaphroditum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"stenotrophomonas geniculata","label":"Stenotrophomonas geniculata","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"stewartia floidana","label":"Stewartia floridana","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"streptococcus gordonii ","label":"Streptococcus gordonii ","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"streptococcus mutans","label":"Streptococcus mutans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":" streptococcus pneumoniae","label":"Streptococcus pneumoniae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"s. purpuratus","label":"Strongylocentrotus purpuratus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"Echinobase","modLink":"https://www.echinobase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"strongyloides ratti","label":"Strongyloides ratti","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"sulfolobus","label":"Sulfolobus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"symphoricarpos albus","label":"Symphoricarpos albus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"syncirsodes","label":"Syncirsodes","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"synechococcus elongatus","label":"Synechococcus elongatus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"syrphidae","label":"Syrphidae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tarantobelus jeffdanielsi","label":"Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"taraxacum officinale","label":"Taraxacum officinale","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tatochila theodice","label":"Tatochila theodice","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tetrahymena","label":"Tetrahymena","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tetramorium immigrans","label":"Tetramorium immigrans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tomato brown rugose fruit virus","label":"ToBRFV","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"trachemys scripta","label":"Trachemys scripta","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tribolium castaneum","label":"Tribolium castaneum","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"trichoptera","label":"Trichoptera","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"trichuris muris","label":"Trichuris muris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"WormBase","modLink":"www.wormbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"trifolium repens","label":"Trifolium repens","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"trypoxylus dichotomus","label":"Trypoxylus dichotomus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"tsuga canadensis","label":"Tsuga canadensis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"ulva expansa","label":"Ulva expansa","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"universal","label":"Universal","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":null,"modLink":null,"linkVariable":null},{"value":"vargula hilgendorfii","label":"Vargula hilgendorfii","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"vespula vulgaris","label":"Vespula vulgaris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"virus","label":"Virus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"watasenia scintillans","label":"Watasenia scintillans","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"wolbachia pipientis","label":"Wolbachia pipientis","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"xenopus","label":"Xenopus","imageSrc":"xenopus.png","imageAlt":"Xenopus graphic by Zoe Zorn CC BY 4.0","mod":"XenBase","modLink":"https://xenbase.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"xenorhabdus griffiniae","label":"Xenorhabdus griffiniae","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"yramea cytheris","label":"Yramea cytheris","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"zaprionus indianus","label":"Zaprionus indianus","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"","modLink":"","linkVariable":""},{"value":"zea mays","label":"Zea mays","imageSrc":"","imageAlt":"","mod":"MaizeGDB","modLink":"https://www.maizegdb.org","linkVariable":""},{"value":"zebrafish","label":"Zebrafish","imageSrc":"zebrafish.png","imageAlt":"Zebrafish graphic by Zoe Zorn CC BY 4.0","mod":"ZFIN","modLink":"https://zfin.org","linkVariable":""}]}},"pageContext":{"id":"1fb3f1be-f839-428f-b064-0c6891f5848f","citedBy":[],"parsedCsv":{"csvHeader":[],"csvData":[]}}}, "staticQueryHashes": ["2114697108"]}