Partners of patients with ulcerative colitis exhibit a biologically relevant dysbiosis in fecal microbial metacommunities

Abstract

AIM: To investigate alterations in the fecal microbiome using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in couples in the same cohabitation environment. METHODS: value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: . The enriched pathways in fecal samples of UC patients were related to lipid and nucleotide metabolism. Additionally, the pathways involved in membrane transport and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins were more abundant in the healthy partners. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that the microbial composition might be affected in healthy partners cohabiting with UC patients, especially in terms of microbiota dysbiosis.