Fig. 2.

Bar chart represents relative abundances (%) of taxa profiles for 39 DFUs. Each bar represents individual genera/species. (A) High frequency taxa were observed in ten patients (26%), mostly comprised of a single microorganism (± 3) (i.e. monomicrobial infection) contributing to ≥ 88% (± 5.4%) of total abundance. (B) High to low frequency taxa were the most common profile and were observed in 25 patients (64%). Low frequency taxa comprised on average of ≥ 20 (±) minor microorganisms each contributing < 1%–5% abundance and no single microorganism contributing > 10% (complex polymicrobial infection). (C) Low frequency taxa were infrequently observed in only four patients (10%) and contained higher relative abundances of environmental microorganisms (p < 0.01).