Fig. 2

Pan-probiotic (PP) treatment influences both alpha and beta diversity in a sex-dependent manner. Alpha and beta diversity analyses of gut microbiota composition in male and female mice treated with PP or vehicle (VH) at 2- and 7-weeks post-treatment. (a–d) The Simpson index and Chao1 richness in males and females indicate that fecal microbiota diversity was higher following a 2-week PP treatment when compared to a VH treatment in both the sham (n = 10) and the traumatic brain injury (TBI) groups (n = 29–30). This pattern persisted into the 7-week treatment for both the sham (n = 10) and TBI (n = 19) groups under VH or PP treatments. Statistical significance was assessed using two-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey’s multiple comparison test (*p < 0.033, **p < 0.002, ***p < 0.001). (e–j) Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) ordination plots were based on Weighted UniFrac distances, and PERMANOVA assessed group dissimilarities. Beta diversity showed significant differences between the female VH and PP groups after 2 weeks of treatment (f), the male mice in the 7-week sham group (g), and the female TBI PP mice after 7 weeks of treatment (j). Statistical significance was assessed using Tukey’s multiple comparisons test (*p<0.033, **p< 0.002, ***p< 0.001)