Table 2. Comparisons of the number of sequences analyzed and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the study series.

Variables	Sampling periods	Infants born by vaginal delivery (n=3)		Infants born by cesarean section (n=3)		P value*
		Mean	SEM	Mean	SEM
Total bacterial sequence	1-3 days	1,097.0	0.0	4,389.0	3,292.0	0.317
	1 mo	5,312.0	0.0	5,312.0	0.0	1.000
	6 mo	15,495.0	6,024.2	7,497.7	2,079.4	0.050
OTUs	1-3 days	129.3	22.5	33.0	15.2	0.024
	1 mo	79.7	4.3	67.7	14.9	0.482
	6 mo	169.3	30.2	104.0	4.4	0.161
Good's coverage	1-3 days	0.948	0.015	0.997	0.015	0.050
	1 mo	0.996	0.000	0.995	0.001	0.513
	6 mo	0.997	0.001	0.996	0.001	0.050

^*Mann-Whitney U test.

mo, months; OTUs, operational taxonomic units; SEM, standard error of mean.