Fig. 3

Fecal microbial diversities were assessed among three experimental groups: SAMR1_PBS group, SAMP8_PBS group, and SAMP8_MSC group. Fecal pellets were collected one week after the final MSC injection, and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed following the protocol outlined in the methods section. Alpha_diversity and beta_diversity analyses were conducted across the three groups (n = 7 per group). A Venn diagram illustrating the shared and unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) among multiple samples, providing insights into OTU overlap across samples and identifying core microbial species associated with different environments. Different colored shapes represent distinct samples or groups, with overlapping numbers indicating shared OTUs between two samples or groups. Likewise, multiple overlapping numbers indicate shared OTUs among multiple samples or groups. Analysis performed using the VennDiagram package in R (v3.1.1). B OTU Rank curve depicting species diversity within samples, assessing both richness and evenness of species abundance. Each OTU's relative abundance in each sample was calculated and arranged in descending order of abundance, with OTU rank on the x-axis and relative abundance on the y-axis. Analysis performed using R (v3.1.1). C–H Box plots illustrating inter-group alpha diversity differences. Kruskal_Wallis test was used for comparisons among three or more groups. P values were noted (p = 0.5964 for sobs, p = 0.5964 for chao p = 0.5788 for ace, p = 0.4788 for shannon, p = 0.5680 for coverage, p = 0.6478 for simpson) for various alpha diversity metrics. Analysis performed using R (v3.2.1) and the ggplot package in R (v3.4.1). I Dilution curve plotting alpha diversity metrics against sequencing depth, providing insights into sequencing depth sufficiency. Analysis conducted using R (v3.1.1). J Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) depicting group_wise discrimination. Different colored or shaped points represent samples under different conditions or environments. Axes represent relative distances, and their interpretation requires consideration of sample characteristics. Analysis performed using the mixOmics package in R (v3.2.1). K Box plots visualizing inter-group differences in beta diversity, with statistical significance indicated (p = 0.0025). Analysis conducted using the ggplot package in R (v3.4.1). L Non_metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) plot assessing community dissimilarities. Anosim analysis was performed to evaluate group_wise differences. Stress values were provided to assess NMDS quality. p = 0.0065, R = 0.1834. Analysis conducted using the vegan package in R