Ocular Microbiome Alterations in Pterygium

Pterygium is a common ocular surface disease characterized by abnormal fibrovascular growth of conjunctival tissue onto the cornea. Although environmental and genetic factors have been linked to its development, the role of the ocular surface microbiome is not well understood.In this study, we investigated changes in the ocular microbiota associated with pterygium using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Swab samples were collected from the ocular surface of individuals diagnosed with pterygium and from healthy controls. Microbial DNA was extracted and the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform.This dataset provides comprehensive profiles of the ocular microbiome in both pterygium and control groups. It enables comparison of microbial diversity and composition, and may help identify potential microbial biomarkers or targets for intervention. All raw sequencing data and related metadata are available in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (SRA).