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Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has been recognized as a leading cause of healthcare-associated infections and a considerable threat to public health globally. Increasing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota plays a key role in the pathogenesis of CDI. The taxonomic composition and functional capacity of the gut microbiota associated with CDI have not been studied systematically. Here, we performed a comprehensive shotgun metagenomic sequencing in a well-characterized human cohort to reveal distinct patterns of gut microbiota and potential functional features associated with CDI. Fecal samples were collected from 104 inpatients, including: (1) patients with clinically significant diarrhea and positive nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) and received CDI treatment (CDI, n = 47) ; (2) patients with positive stool NAAT but without diarrhea (Carrier, n = 17) ; (3) patients with negative stool NAAT but with diarrhea (Diarrhea, n = 14) ; and (4) patients with negative stool NAAT and without diarrhea (Control, n = 26). Downstream statistical analyses (including alpha and beta diversity analysis, differential abundance analysis, correlation network analysis, and potential functional analysis) were then performed. The gut microbiota in the Control group showed higher Chao1 index (p p p unclassifiedfEnterobacteriaceae, Veillonellaₚarvula, unclassifiedgKlebsiella and etc. ) were enriched in CDI, Enterobacterₐerogenes was enriched in Diarrhea, Collinsellaₐerofaciens, Collinsellaₛp₄₈₄7FAA, Collinsellaₜanakaei and CollinsellaₛpCAG₁66 were enriched in Control (LDA >3. 0, adjusted p 2. 5, adjusted p 3. 0, adjusted p Clostridioides difficile. These findings support the potential roles of gut microbiota and their potential functions in the pathogenesis of CDI.
Wang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.