Fig. 2: Aitchison distance demonstrates durable microbial distinctions between housing/diet cohorts.

A Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) of Aitchison distance for animals. Colors indicate hierarchically determined microbiota clusters for each cohort (Building A/high fiber=teal; Building B/high protein=purple; n = 8 RMs per group). Shapes represent unique time-points, with large circles representing the earliest sample time point (Week [W]-2), small circles representing Week 0 (W0) through Week 4 (W4), and large squares representing the final observation (Week [W]6). Lines connect timepoints for each RM. B Total sample-to-sample distance across time for individual animals demonstrate higher microbiota variability over time in Building B/high protein cohort as compared to Building A/high fiber cohort (p = 0.028; n = 8 RMs per group). Box limits represent the upper and lower quartiles, while box whiskers represent 1.5x the interquartile range. Horizontal lines within each box represent the median. Points overlaying the box and whisker bars represent data from individual RMs. Statistical significance between Building A/High Fiber and Building B/High Protein RM total Aitchison distance traveled was determined using a 2-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test, with the p value shown above the horizontal line at the top of the plot.