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

Table 1 Information and clinical characteristics of ulcerative colitis patients and their healthy partners n (%)

	UC patients (n = 8)	Healthy partners (n = 8)
mean age (SD)	53 (9.57)	42.25 (9.41)
Male	6 (75.0)	3 (37.5)
Age at diagnosis
16-40 yr	3 (37.5)
Above 40 yr	5 (62.5)
Disease location
Colonic	5 (62.5)
Rectal	3 (37.5)
Concomitant upper GI disease	4 (50.0)
CRP
Normal (0-10 mg/L)	5 (62.5)
Abnormal	3 (37.5)

GI: Gastrointestinal; CRP: C-reactive protein; UC: Ulcerative colitis.

Table 2 Microbial metabolism differentially abundant in ulcerative colitis patients and their healthy partners

Pathway	UC patients		Healthy partners		P value
	Mean abundance	Standard error	Mean abundance	Standard error
Membrane transport
ABC transporters1	3.0271	0.5695	3.7117	0.7130	0.04149
Signal transduction
Phosphatidylinositol signaling system	0.1022	0.0155	0.0845	0.0182	0.018959
Signaling molecules and interaction
G protein-coupled receptors1	1.76 × 10-5	3.63 × 10-5	6.54 × 10-5	1.02 × 10-5	0.02515
Infectious diseases
Staphylococcus aureus infection	0.295	0.582	0.00545	0.00442	0.041492
Biosynthesis of other secondary
Metabolites; isoflavonoid biosynthesis	8.97 × 10-6	8.03 × 10-6	9.75 × 10-7	1.39 × 10-7	0.003511
Novobiocin biosynthesis1	0.1161	0.010	0.1277	0.0122	0.02494
Carbohydrate metabolism
C5-Branched dibasic acid metabolism1	0.287	0.0536	0.3214	0.0218	0.04149
Glycan biosynthesis and metabolism
Glycosphingolipid biosynthesis	3.74 × 10-4	3.95 × 10-4	1.37 × 10-4	1.91× 10-4	0.032476
Lipid metabolism
Linoleic acid metabolism	0.0851	0.0505	0.0518	0.0197	0.024942
Primary bile acid biosynthesis	0.0416	0.0186	0.0257	0.0120	0.018959
Secondary bile acid biosynthesis	0.0414	0.0187	0.0255	0.0120	0.018959
Metabolism of cofactors and vitamins
Porphyrin and chlorophy II metabolism1	0.7225	0.1723	0.8785	0.1079	0.03248
Nucleotide metabolism
Purine metabolism	2.2171	0.2176	2.0283	0.1561	0.018959
Xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism
Atrazine degradation1	0.0227	0.0252	0.0441	0.0329	0.03248
Ethylbenzene degradation	0.0769	0.0643	0.0429	0.00795	0.018959
Naphthalene degradation	0.1827	0.0823	0.1300	0.0261	0.018959
Nitrotoluene degradation1	0.0651	0.0346	0.1022	0.0198	0.02494
Styrene degradation1	0.0155	0.0131	0.0329	0.0231	0.02494

¹Indicated higher abundance in the healthy partners (P < 0.05). UC: Ulcerative colitis.