Fig. 3

Seasonal genes expression in the pituitary gland. (a) Relative expression of Eya3 and (b) Chga in STD, CAF and CAF treated with ABX rats housed under different photoperiods (L6, L12 and L18). Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA followed by pairwise comparison Sidak post hoc test: *indicates diet effect (***p ≤ 0.001) and ab letters indicate photoperiod effect. Data are plotted as the mean ± SEM (n = 7–8). L6: 6 h light/18 h darkness, L12: 12 h light/12 h darkness, L18: 18 h light/6 h darkness, STD: standard chow diet, CAF: cafeteria diet, ABX: antibiotic cocktail (0.5 g/l ampicillin, 0.250 g/l vancomycin and 0.125 g/l imipenem).