The Impact of Nod2 Deficiency on the Gut Mycobiota in Crohns disease patients in remission

Determine the impact Nod2 deficiency may have on the gut mycobiota in CD. CD patients of known Nod2 genotype were identified from the UK IBD genetics consortium. Patients in remission were selected if they carried 2 of the common Nod2 variants (homozygotes or compound heterozygotes). Each Nod2 mutant patient was matched to a Nod2 wild-type patient. Participants without CD and of a known Nod2 genotype were recruited from the Cambridge BioResource. DNA was extracted from stool samples using the DNeasy PowerLyzer PowerSoil kit. The ITS1 region of the eukaryotic ribosomal cluster was amplified and sequenced using the illumina MiSeq. Sequence data was processed using Mothur and reads were assigned taxonomy using the UNITE database (v8). 16S rRNA gene sequences of participants were used from a previous study. This study confirms previously identified compositional changes in the enteric mycobiota in CD patients. However, no differences were observed in the fungal community when stratified by Nod2 genotype (wild type vs. mutant).