IBD is a gastrointestinal disorder where the immune system is abnormally active, causing an inflammation. There are two variants of IBD, namely Crohn's disease (CD), which can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, and ulcerative colitis (UC), which is restricted to the colon and rectum. IBD is a chronic disease in which several factors play a role. It is not yet clear what triggers the abnormal immune response, but pathogens, as well as commensal microorganisms living in the gut, are suspected to be involved. IBD in close relatives increases the risk of IBD occurrence, which suggests a genetic component. Environmental risk factors such as smoking and a high-fat diet also influence the development of IBD.
The example data are from a large-scale IBD study on a cohort of 155 people, 34 of which were healthy, 53 suffered from UC and 68 from CD. Stool samples from all participants were collected, processed and sequenced to compare the composition of the gut microbiome across the three groups. The infographic gives an overview of the study characteristics. doi: 10.1038/s41564-018-0306-4
the stacked plot created with ggplot2 package
- most abundant phylum is Firmicutes in many samples.