Figure 2.

Nicotine (NIC) exposure shifts cecal bacterial abundance in virgin versus pregnant (preg; gestational day 19) Sprague Dawley rats. (A) Average proportion of bacteria within each phylum identified. (B) Gut microbial diversity as measured by Shannon diversity index. (C) Two-way ANOVA identified significant shifts in bacteria in phyla Firmicutes and Actinobacteria in pregnancy (p < 0.02). NIC also elevated the proportion of bacteria in p_Actinobacteria, independent of pregnancy status (p < 0.04). (D) The ratio of bacteria in p_Firmicutes to p_Bacteriodetes or F/B ratio was unchanged by pregnancy or NIC exposure. Values are mean ± SEM; Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons. * (handle bars) indicates p < 0.02 between virgin and pregnant groups combined; # indicates p < 0.04 between NIC vs. CON in virgin and pregnant females combined; * (straight line) indicates p < 0.05 between treatment groups. n = 6–8 samples per group.