Figures 8. The PICRUSt2-predicted microbial functions with significant differences between the muskox adults and calves at level 2 KEGG functional categories.
Microbial functional structure differed significantly between muskox adults and calves (PERMANOVA, pseudo-F = 3.63, p = 0.012) (Figure 7). Among predicted functions at KEGG level 2, 8 functions were significantly different between muskox adults and calves (Figure 8). Energy metabolism pathway was the dominant pathway in both muskox adults and calves (6.63% vs. 5.88%, p = 0.004), but the adults had higher nitrogen metabolism functions than the calves (0.77% vs. 0.65%, p < 0.001). Other metabolism pathways did not show significant differences between the two groups (carbohydrate metabolism, 0.11% and 0.13%, p = 0.29; fatty acid metabolism, 0.41% and 0.33% p = 0.49; glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, 0.76% and 0.65%, p = 0.15; butanoate metabolism, 0.98% and 0.84%, p = 0.33; fatty acid biosynthesis, 0.60% and 0.57%, p = 0.21; adults and calves, respectively; Figure 8).