16S rRNA and metagenomic sequences of mice with recurrent C. difficile, given fecal microbiota transplantation from different sources Raw sequence reads
This study aimed to identify microbiota communities that could clear Clostridioides difficile in a mouse model of infection. Briefly, mice made susceptible to C. difficile (via antibiotic treatment) were treated with vancomycin, which results in recurrent C. difficile infection (CDI). While mice treated with feces from healthy mouse feces rapidly clear C. difficile, feces from healthy humans does not clear C. difficile. This is independent of the ability of health-associated bacterial taxa from humans to engraft the mice. These results suggest that while engraftment of relevant bacterial species may be a first necessary step in clearing C. difficile with fecal transplantation, other factors (i.e. host response, bacterial adaptation, community cooperation) are involved in recovery from CDI.