Fig. 1.

A Diet Trial outline, animals (n = 7/group) received daily the bifidobacterial strain mix (B. breve NRBB01, B. breve NRBB57 and B. bifidum CNCM I-4319) by oral gavage for 14 days while being fed either the AIN93G control diet (green) or the prebiotic diet (AIN93G + scGOS/scFOS/2’-FL; red) before being culled. A washout period of 7 days was used in replicate groups before being culled to determine bifidobacterial strain colonization. B Clindamycin Trial outline, Animals were gavaged daily for 28 days while being fed the prebiotic diet. Five groups of animals (n = 10/group) were used for this purpose (PBS gavage control, B. breve NRBB01, B. breve NRBB57, B. bifidum CNCM I-4319 or Bif. mix), of which half of the animals received antibiotic treatment. From day 7 to day 14 animals in the antibiotic challenge arm (red) were given 250 mg L⁻¹ of clindamycin as part of the water supply. A cohort of animals were culled 2 weeks post-antibiotic challenge. A second cohort (same five groups, n = 10/group) was given a further 7 days as a gavage washout before being culled to determine bifidobacterial strain colonization. Image created with BioRender