A metagenomic approach to the characterization of the microbiomes of sickle cell disease-associated leg ulcers

In this study, the microbiomes of leg ulcers of sickle cell disease subjects and changes in these microbiomes induced by compression therapy were studied using a metagenomic ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing approach. RNA from wound samples was extracted, and amplified using appropriate bacterial and fungal primers for selected regions (V3-V5 and V4 segments of the 16S rRNA bacterial region and ITS 3-4 region of the fungal genomes) and libraries were constructed for paired end sequencing. The generated sequences were subjected to a detailed analysis of the microbial taxa present in the ulcers using the QIIME metagenomic pipeline.