Page 18 - Read Online

Lai et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2024;3:21 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2023.76 Page 11 of 15

Figure 4. Differential metabolic pathways were calculated by (A) Kruskal-Wallis H test and (B) LEfSe. There were 420 differential
pathways whose significance value was less than 0.05, and the abundance of the top six was shown. The differential pathways with
**
***
*
LDA > 3, P < 0.05 in each sample were shown in different colors. Asterisk refers to statistical significance; P < 0.05, P < 0.01, and P <
0.001. LDA: Linear discriminant analysis.
Differences in microbial community structure
LEfSe was a useful tool to distinguish the differential species among samples [linear discriminant analysis
(LDA) > 2, P < 0.05]. There were 29, 59, and 29 differential species in the samples of different substrates of
ingredients. Among them, L. plantarum was relatively more common in MR-A, the specific strain of which
can reduce total biogenic amines in Dongbei Suancai in Northeast China . Weissella viridescens possesses
[51]
thermal resistance , which is probably related to its survivability under the boiling process of MF-A. In
[52]
addition, Limosilactobacillus fermentum was highlighted in MLS-A, the specific strain of which is
considered a probiotic that can improve intestinal health . Among the samples of different suppliers, the
[53]
exopolysaccharide-producing ability of Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides might contribute to the viscosity
[50]
of MF-C. Interestingly, different species of Leuconostoc sp. were identified in other supplier samples,
particularly Leuconostoc lactis (MF-E), Leuconostoc mesenteroides (MF-B), and Leuconostoc citreum (MF-
A). These data indicated that the microbial composition varied with the suppliers. It was worth noting that
L. plantarum was also highlighted in MF-D (LDA = 5.16, P < 0.05), which was consistent with cluster
analysis [Figure 3B].

The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to reveal the metabolic differences between samples. There were 420
differential pathways with a significance value < 0.05, and the abundance of the top six is shown in
Figure 4A. In general, the metabolic pathway was significantly different between samples (P < 0.01), which