| Summary: | Association between the gut mycobiome and atopic dermatitis was investigated in 9–12-month-old infants using metagenomics. Two groups of atopic dermatitis infants were classified according to their symptom development as outgrown (recovered) and persisted (still undergoing). The evenness and diversity of the mycobiome in the persisted group were higher than in the healthy and outgrown groups. Dysbiosis of the microbiome in the persisted group was observed by a reduction in the <i>Ascomycota</i>/<i>Basidiomycota</i> ratio. Five fungi were selected as markers from each sample group. In the persisted group, <i>Rhodotorula</i> sp. abundance increased significantly, while <i>Wickerhamomyces</i> sp. and <i>Kodamaea</i> sp. abundance increased in the healthy group, and <i>Acremonium</i> sp. and <i>Rhizopus</i> sp. abundance increased considerably in the outgrown group. Metaproteomic analysis revealed that the persisted group had a high abundance of fungal proteins, particularly those from <i>Rhodotorula</i> sp. Unique proteins such as RAN-binding protein 1 and glycerol kinase from <i>Rhodotorula</i> sp. were hypothesized to be related to atopic dermatitis manifestation in infants.
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