Table 1.
Number of sequences, OTUs, and alpha-diversity indices in OLH and OLL groups.
Fig 1.
The bacterial community composition in the two groups at phylum level (A) and genus level (B).
OLH = High group, OLL = Low group. The relative abundance of Firmicutes*, Pseudobutyrivibrio*, and unidentified bacteria and Prevotella belonging to the family Paraprevotellaceae* was significantly different between the two groups, with * means the significance at P<0.05.
Fig 2.
The composition of rumen methanogens in the two groups.
Mbr = Methanobrevibacter, Msp = Methanosphaera, Mth = Methanomethylophilus, OTUs = operational taxonomic units, OLH = High group, OLL = Low group.
Fig 3.
The composition of rumen protozoa in the two groups.
OLH = High group, OLL = Low group.
Fig 4.
The composition of rumen fungi in the two groups.
OLH = High group, OLL = Low group.
Table 2.
Comparing the concentrations of volatile fatty acids in the OLH and OLL groups.
Fig 5.
Relationships between microbial populations and fermentation products in the rumen of sika deer fed tannin rich plants.
(A) Correlation between microbial populations and fermentation products. Strong correlations are indicated by large circles, whereas weak correlations are indicated by small circles. The colors of the scale bar denote the nature of the correlation with 1 indicating perfect positive correlation (dark blue) and -1 indicating the negative correlation (dark red). (B) Co-occurrence network analysis among microbial populations and fermentation products. Bright blue circle nodes represent microbial populations at genus level, and rounded rectangle nodes represent fermentation products. Each co-occurring pair among microbial populations at genus level and fermentation products has an absolute Spearman rank correlation above 0.70 [Gold line: positive correlation (R >0.70); Gray line: negative correlation (R <-0.70)] with an false discovery rate-corrected significance level under 0.05. Different groups of microorganisms and fermentation products were indicated by various colors: Bacteria (blue), Methanogens (green), Protozoa (purple), Fungi (orange), Fermentation products (red). Par = Paraprevotellaceae, Mbr = Methanobrevibacter, Msp = Methanosphaera, Ep = Epidinium, Ent = Entodinium, Eud = Eudiplodinium.