Fig. 3: Effect of doxycycline on the rectal microbiome alpha diversity in DuDHS study participants over 24 and 48 weeks.

Rectal microbiome composition was evaluated from rectal swab samples collected at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks after randomization to either the immediate (n = 22) or deferred (n = 19) doxyPrEP study arms. A comparison of alpha diversity measures (Shannon’s H) over time in each study arm is shown at the genus (A), family (B), order (C), class (D), and phylum level (E). Box plots show the median, upper and lower quartiles. Differences between follow-up timepoints were determined using Wilcoxon signed rank tests (two-sided) in paired comparisons, and across all three timepoints using Kruskal–Wallis test.