Fig. 3: Gut microbial species and functional potentials associated with BMD.
From: Metagenomic analysis revealing links between age, gut microbiota and bone loss in Chinese adults
a Box plot shows the alpha diversity (Shannon index at the species level) in three diagnostic groups. P values are generated from ANCOVA by adjusting sex, age, BMI, WHR, lifestyles and diet. The center line represents the median value, boxes denote the interquartile ranges (IQRs) between the first and third quartiles, and whiskers extend 1.5 times the IQR from the top and bottom of the box. b Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarities of the gut microbial species composition in three diagnostic groups. The ellipses mean 95% confidence interval. The adonis P value is showed. c Left: Heatmap shows partial Spearman correlation between species and BMD measurements after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, WHR, lifestyles and dietary habits. Star, BH-adjusted P < 0.05, hash, P < 0.05. Right: Cuneiform plot shows the difference in relative abundance of 37 BMD-associated gut microbial species among diagnostic groups (MaAsLin, Method). Colored triangles indicate the enrichment directions in given groups: red triangles with the head down, higher abundance in high-BMD group; blue with the head up, higher abundance in low-BMD group. Triangles with solid color mean significant difference between groups (MaAsLin P < 0.05), while triangles with transparent color mean nonsignificant (NS) between groups (MaAsLin P ≥ 0.05). The sizes of triangles represent the log-transformed P-values from MaAsLin (P ≥ 0.05, P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The greater the size, the more significant between groups. d Left: Heatmap shows partial Spearman correlation between microbial pathways and BMD measurements after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, WHR, lifestyles and dietary habits. Right: cuneiform plot showing the difference in abundance of BMD-associated gut microbial pathways among diagnostic groups. e Left: Taxonomic contributions of bacterial families to the arginine biosynthesis pathway (ARGSYNBSUB-PWY). Middle: The essential enzymes involved in arginine biosynthesis. Right: Heatmap shows the presence or absence of microbial genes encoding the essential enzymes in arginine biosynthesis. Red indicates the presence while white indicates the absence.
