Raw sequencing data for analysis of ocular Microbial Communities of Humans with Blepharitis and Non-Blepharitis

To compare the ocular microbial communities of human healthy subjects and subjects with blepharitis, bacterial 16S rRNA genes of eyelash and tear samples from seven blepharitis patients and four healthy volunteers were amplified using barcoded primer sets and then sequenced using a pyrosequencing method. Phylotypic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that eyelash and tear had highly diverse bacterial communities with many previously undescribed bacteria. Bacterial communities in eyelashes with blepharitis were less diverse than healthy eyelashes, while tear bacterial communities of subjects with blepharitis were more diverse than those of healthy subjects. Statistical analyses using a UniFrac-based hierarchical tree and a principle coordinate analysis showed that the bacterial communities of tear with blepharitis were clearly well clustered regardless of individuals, while bacterial communities of all eyelash samples and healthy tear samples were not well clustered due to high interpersonal variability. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that Propionibacterium, Staphylococcus, Streptophyta, Corynebacterium, and Enhydrobacter were identified as common ocular bacteria. Increase of Staphylococcus, Streptophyta, Corynebacterium, and Enhydrobacter and decrease of Propionibacterium were observed from subjects with blepharitis in terms of the relative abundances. Higher abundances of Streptophyta, Corynebacterium, and Enhydrobacter in subjects with blepharitis suggested that human blepharitis might be induced by infestations of pollens, dusts and soil particles. These results will provide valuable information for the prevention and treatment of human blepharitis based on ocular microbial flora.