Fig. 3.

Oral exposure to SiO₂NPs caused the disturbance of gut microbiota and their associated biological functions. The fecal samples of two groups were collected and subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. A Sobs, Ace, Chao, Simpson, and Shannon were determined to assess the α-diversity of gut microbiota. Data were reported as mean ± S.E.M. Statistical analysis was calculated by using independent student-t test. Asterisk * indicated P < 0.05. B The percent of community abundance on phylum level was detected in two groups. The differences on the community abundance on phylum level were analyzed and shown in (C). D Venn diagram showed the overlap of core microbiota between vehicle group and SiO₂NPs-treated group. E The dissimilarities in microbial composition on OTU level was determined by principal component analysis (PCA). F Partial least squares discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) was used to detect the gut microbial community compositions between two groups. Bacterial clades and biologically consistent difference (LDA score > 2.0) were assessed by Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) coupled with effect size (LEfSe) (H, I). Typing analysis on family level was shown in (G)