An insight into the microbiome associated with the damage of raw animal hide and skin-primarily protein, during leather making.

Leather processing is vital for the economy of many developing countries, nevertheless, this industry is faced with issues of leather down-grading owing to its low quality leading to economic loss. In addition to defects due to scratch, wound, scar, etc., the down-grading of hide and skin due to microbial putrefaction is also of concern. The major components of raw hide and skin being proteins, fats and minerals, they act as excellent medium for the growth and proliferation of bacteria, leading to putrefaction. Sometimes the damage is more apparent at pickled and wet-blue stage of leather making. The tanned leather is prone to decay by fungi during processing and even after storage as well. Hence, it is quite essential to understand the microbiome of raw hide and skin to gain a deeper insight into the process of putrefaction. This review aims to discuss about the microbes commonly associated with putrefaction of raw animal hide and skin which are capable to cause putrefaction. A few occasions, where infection was caused due to microbes during the life span of animal but the defect was visible only after leather was made out of the hide and skin of infected animal, have also been discussed.