Fig. 4.

Effect of HS and supplemental 25-OH-D₃ in broilers at d 39 on caecal microbiome; A-C Chao1 and Simpson indexes were used to assess diversity and evenness at genus level, D principle coordinate analysis plot (PCoA) of caecum microbiome diversity at species level based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarities; Ctrl vs. PF, P = 0.019; Ctrl. vs. HS, P = 0.006; PF vs. HS, P = 0.191; and HS vs. HS + 25-OH-D₃, P = 0.002; R² model = 0.33, E relative abundances of bacterial communities at phylum level, F Firmicutes, and G Bacteroidetes, H, I caecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA). Treatments Ctrl, PF and HS without common superscript are significantly different at P < 0.05. n.s., denotes no significant difference between HS and HS + 25-OH-D₃ at P < 0.05