Figure 4.
Prolonged impairment of microbial functions of SCFAs and L-isoleucine biosynthesis after recovery of COVID-19. (A) The composition of microbial pathways in non–COVID-19 controls as well as patients with COVID-19 at baseline and after discharge, viewed using NMDS plot based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarities. (B) The Bray-Curtis dissimilarity of patients with COVID-19 at baseline and after discharge to non–COVID-19 controls. The P value of the significance was determined using Mann-Whitney U test and was indicated as ∗P < .05. (C) Richness of microbial pathways in non–COVID-19 controls as well as patients with COVID-19 at baseline and after discharge, evaluated based on Chao1 index. #P < .05 indicates statistical significance for patients with COVID-19 versus non–COVID-19 controls, determined using Mann-Whitney U test. (D) Heat map summarizing changes in gut microbiome functionality in patients with COVID-19 after discharge. The labels on the right side indicate microbial pathways. Pathways with higher abundances are red, whereas those with low relative abundances are blue.