Diversity differences between Sham and TAC sample types. (A) Pictorial representation of the study plan. (B) Box plots for the Shannon alpha-diversity index in Sham and TAC samples at different time points. The box plot boxes indicate interquartile ranges (IQR), the black line indicates the median, whiskers extend till extreme values within 1.5 times the IQR, and black points outside whiskers are outliers. For the 1st- and 6th-week samples, Shannon index values with significant differences in the Sham and TAC samples are shown (*, **, and ns correspond to p ≤ 0.05, p ≤ 0.01, and not significant, respectively). (n values are as follows: Sham day 0 = 10, day 7 = 10, day 14 = 9, day 42 = 9; TAC day 0 = 16, day 7 = 16, day 14 = 16, day 42 = 15). (C) Box plots for the Shannon alpha-diversity index within sample type (Sham and TAC) at different time points. Observed significant differences for each timepoint sample comparison with the 0th-day TAC samples. (n values are as follows: Sham day 0 = 10, day 7 = 10, day 14 = 9, day 42 = 9; TAC day 0 = 16, day 7 = 16, day 14 = 16, day 42 = 15). (D) For different time points, separate clusters were observed in the PCoA plot for all sample types. For the 6th-week samples, distinct clusters were observed for the control, Sham, and TAC sample types (PERMANOVA p-value: 0.001, beta dispersion p-value: 1 × 10−4). (n values are as follows: control day 0 = 12, day 7 = 12, day 14 = 12, day 42 = 12; Sham day 0 = 10, day 7 = 10, day 14 = 9, day 42 = 9; TAC day 0 = 16, day 7 = 16, day 14 = 16, day 42 = 15). (E) PCoA plot of Sham samples at different time points. The 6th-week samples formed a separate cluster compared to other timepoint samples for the Sham sample type. (PERMANOVA p-value: 0.377, beta dispersion p-value: 0.3875) (n values are as follows: day 0 = 10, day 7 = 10, day 14 = 9, day 42 = 9). (F) PCoA analysis of TAC samples at different time points. The 6th-week samples formed a distinct cluster as compared to other time point data of TAC samples with large variations. (PERMANOVA p-value: 0.001, beta dispersion p-value: 1 × 10−4) (n values are as follows: day 0 = 16, day 7 = 16, day 14 = 16, day 42 = 15).