Fig. 3

Cecal microbial community structure at the phylum (A) and genus (C) levels (n = 6) in broilers at 42 days of age. The taxa with higher abundances in the groups are shown in red, while those with lower abundances are shown in blue. The significant changes in phyla (B) and genera (D) are presented. The values are expressed as the medians. Statistical differences were calculated by paired Student’s t test. * represents P < 0.05 and ** represents P < 0.01. C: basal diet; IA group, basal diet supplemented with 6 g/kg itaconic acid