Alteration of the gut microbiome has been linked to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, a comprehensive view of the gut microbiome in SLE and its interaction with the host remains to be revealed. This study aimed to reveal SLE-associated changes in the gut microbiome and its interaction with the host by a comprehensive metagenome-wide association study (MWAS) followed by integrative analysis.
We performed a MWAS of SLE based on shotgun sequencing of the gut microbial DNA from Japanese individuals (
Via species level phylogenetic analysis, we identified and validated increases of 
Our MWAS followed by integrative analysis revealed SLE-associated changes in the gut microbiome and its interaction with the host, which contribute to our understanding of the relationship between the microbiome and SLE.