Gut microbiota composition in COVID-19 survived patients

The proposed doctoral research examines the chronic changes in the intestinal microbiome of patients with COVID-19 survivors with attention to their sex-dependent differences and associations with post- acute COVID-19 syndrome. The study used stool samples of 30 COVID-19 recovered (21 female, 9 male) and 10 matched healthy individuals and compared them using various methods such as bacteria culture, 16s rRNA sequencing, and a metagenomics approach in Erbil, Iraq. Findings showed that COVID-19 survivors maintain gut dysbiosis three months after infection. The survivors had much lower alpha-diversity (Shannon index 3.1 vs. 4.2, p < 0.001), meaning that they had fewer species and lower equality. Shifts in beta-diversity were significantly different between control and survivor groups, with appreciable patterns of sex. The beneficial microbes (Faecalibacterium prausnitzii) were reduced significantly (2.8-fold, p = 0.003), whereas pro- inflammatory microbes (Prevotella copri in case of males and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum in case of females) were augmented. PICRUSt2 functional predictions showed sex dissimilar metabolic abnormalities, such as inhibited carbohydrate metabolism, which could be associated with long COVID effects such as glucose intolerance. The paper has also suggested new ecological measures--bimodal rank-abundance and midcurve depletion-- as a candidate with post- acute COVID-19 syndrome biomarker. Close relations (r = 0.72, p = 0.008) between microbial imbalance and gastrointestinal symptoms also underpinned the role of the gut in post-COVID issues. Because of evident sex-related microbial differences, the given study underlines the necessity of gender-specific microbiome therapies, such as precision probiotics and personalized diets. Longitudinal and multi-omics studies may help to define causal relationships and provide insights into clinical approaches to dealing with post- acute COVID-19 syndrome.