African microbiome data in BugSigDB

The complexity and diversity in microbiome research pose difficulties in consolidating and evaluating existing knowledge. BugSigDB, an open-source and open-science platform (bugsigdb.org) powered by the same technology as Wikipedia, is designed to address this issue through standardized recording of key methods and signatures in published microbiome literature. BugSigDB is maintained by a global network of hundreds of curators, including many from Africa, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of health and disease and encouraging more inclusive and impactful research results. Currently, BugSigDB includes microbiome data of 39 studies conducted in 18 African countries, out of a total of 1174 curated studies from 78 countries. The goal of the presented work is to increase the curation of microbiome studies involving African participants, thereby enriching the global dataset and ensuring that African data is adequately represented in microbiome research.