RESUMEN
Objective To investigate the characteristics of gut microbiota in patients with schizophrenia. Methods The composition of the fecal microbiota in 16 schizophrenia patients and 20 healthy controls was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results At the phylum level, TM7 was increased in the patients (P<0.05). At the class level, the abundance of Peptostreptococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae and Actinomycetaceae in the patients increased (P<0.05), whereas the abundance of Tissierellaceae decreased relative to health controls (P<0.05). At the genus level, Actinomyces, Scardovia, Atopobium, Moryella, G07 and Lactobacillus were increased in the patients relative to healthy controls (P<0.05). Prediction of functional properties of bacterial flora showed that the metabolic pathways of fatty acids and pyruvate were different between the patients and healthy controls (P<0.05). Conclusion The present study reveals an alteration in the characteristics of gut microbiota in schizophrenia patients which may be an auxiliary diagnosis marker for clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia.