Fig. 2

Effect of diet on bacterial community composition presented as PCoA plots based on Bray–Curtis distance in piglets fed the experimental diets. Piglets were sampled on d 21 (n = 8). In distal small intestine at amplicon sequence variant (ASV) (a) and genus (b) level and in mid-colon at ASV (c) and genus (d) level. Control diet, orange; gluconic acid at 9 g/kg, light blue; and gluconic acid at 18 g/kg, dark blue. In PCoA plot a, b, and c, bacterial community composition of gluconic acid at 18 g/kg was different from control (all P < 0.05); no other differences were observed