3.4 Gene functional predictions
Functional predictions based on the KEGG database at Level 1 suggest
that genes in jejunum and cecum microorganisms at different dietary
protein levels are mainly enriched in the ‘metabolism pathway’, followed
by ‘genetic-information-processing’ and
‘environmental-information-processing’ pathways. In contrast, at Level
2, the main enrichment pathways are ‘membrane-transport’ and
‘carbohydrate-metabolism’. No significant differences in microbial gene
KEGG pathways were seen in jejunum samples at different dietary protein
levels (Figure 6). In contrast, significant differences in KEGG gene
enrichment pathways were seen in cecum samples at the three different
dietary protein levels (P < 0.05); these included
‘metabolism’, ‘environmental-information-processing’, and ‘organismal
systems’. Similarly, comparing jejunum and cecum microbial KEGG
functional predictions at the three different dietary protein levels
reveals that enrichment pathways are significantly different,
specifically ‘metabolism’ and ‘environment-information-processing’.