Fig. 9

Shifts in profiles of potential contaminants prior to and following decontamination via two in silico approaches. Per specimen shifts (n = 148) in bacterial proportions are shown for bacterial genera commonly described as “potential contaminants” in 16S rRNA gene sequencing datasets aAquabacterium, bAcidovorax, cNoviherbaspirillum, dAcinetobacter and eStenotrophomonas. Open circles and smoothing splines (representing a factor of 2x the standard deviation) denote bacterial proportions (Y-axis) for each of the specimens (X-axis). Red: Proportions prior to decontamination; Blue: Proportions following the removal of “potential contaminants” identified using the “NTConly” approach; Yellow: Proportions following the removal of “potential contaminants” identified using the “NTC + decontam” approach