In comparing patients with and without appendicitis, we found that five taxa showed a statistically significant increase in the normal appendix when compared to diseased appendices: Paenibacillaceae (p = 0.005), Acidobacteriaceae GP4 (p = 0.019), Pseudonocardinae (p = 0.019), Bergeyella (p = 0.019) and Rhizobium (p = 0.045) (Table 3). Here, CD36 is linked to appendicitis.