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. 2021 Jan 12;10:e64237. doi: 10.7554/eLife.64237

Figure 1. Nongenomic effects of gut microbiome on bone volume, structure and turnover are hereditarily transferred.

Figure 1.

(A) Diagram of the experimental outline. Fecal material from conventional C57BL/6 (low BMD) or C3H/HeN (high BMD) mice was transferred to germ-free mating pairs of the other strain. Bone structure and turnover were analyzed in 16-week-old female mice of the F1 generation to determine the influence of the donor microbiota on post-natal skeletal development. (B) Fecal microbiome composition in C57BL/6 (BL6) mice and C3H/HeN (C3H) mice. (C) Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of Sfb and total bacterial 16S rRNA genes in fecal samples. (D) Femoral trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV). (E) Trabecular number (Tb.N). (F) Trabecular thickness (Tb.Th). (G) Trabecular separation (Tb.Sp). (H) Cortical Area (Ct.Ar). (I) Cortical thickness (Ct.Th). (J) Serum levels of CTX, a marker of bone resorption. (K) Serum levels of osteocalcin (OCN), marker of bone formation. n = 9–12 mice per group. Data were expressed as mean ± SEM. All data were normally distributed according to the Shapiro-Wilk normality test. Data were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA and post hoc tests applying the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001 compared to indicated groups.

Figure 1—source data 1.