Fig. 7

Acetate modulation of the gut microbiota in SHRs. A-B, α-diversity of gut microbiota detected by 16 S rRNA sequencing. C, the principal component analysis (PCA) based β-diversity depicts the clustering of gut microbial communities across various groups. D-G, effect of acetate supplementation on the relative abundance of acetate-, propionate-, butyrate- and lactate-producing bacteria in rats. n = 5 for each group. H-I, α-diversity of gut microbiota in 5-week-old juvenile SHRs (j-SHRs) and age-matched WKY rats (j-WKYs). J, PCA analysis of β-diversity in the intestinal flora of juvenile rats. K-N, relative abundance of acetate-, propionate-, butyrate- and lactate-producing bacteria in juvenile rats. n = 6 for each group. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, **** P < 0.0001