Fig. 1

Comparison of the microbiome in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy controls. Taxonomic summary of the microbial communities detected in the fecal samples at (a) the phyla level and (b) the top genera. The alpha diversity was estimated by different indices; (c) Chao1, (d) Observed OTUs, (e) Shannon, and (f) Simpson diversity indices. Beta diversity analysis visualized by Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) of Bray-Curtis distance showing the fecal microbiome composition at the phyla level among (g) SLE (n = 15) and control (n = 16) groups, (h) mild/moderate (n = 10) and severe (n = 5) SLE subgroups, (i) different medication combinations, and (j) patients with SLE receiving low (≤ 10 mg/day) and high (˃10 mg/day) prednisolone (PRED) doses. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney test. p < 0.05 was significant. Error bars represent the standard deviation. The taxonomic summary bar plots and beta diversity plots were generated using MicrobiomeAnalyst