Fig. 4

Effects of enteral starch content on colonic mucosal barrier and transcriptional profile (n = 8 for mucosal defense parameters, and n = 6 for host transcriptome). A Gene expression of colonic mucosal defense of two groups of growing goats. The difference between two groups was identified by independent sample T-test. B Heatmap of colonic mucosal DEGs. Compared with LES, 64 DEGs were upregulated and 81 DEGs were downregulated significantly in HES goats, respectively. C KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs (top10). D DEGs related to differential pathways in the colon of HES goats (ko04610, ko04612, and ko05321). ko04610, Complement and coagulation cascades; ko04612, Antigen processing and presentation; ko05321, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The upregulated DEGs are shown in red, whereas the downregulated DEGs are presented in blue. E DEGs (RNA-Seq) related to the mucosal immunologic pathways of the HES goats compared with the LES goats (the difference was identified by Mann–Whitney U test.). qPCR validation of DEGs in the colonic mucosa of HES goats compared with the LES goats (the difference was identified by independent sample T-test). The values are presented as log₂ (fold change). F Effects of enteral starch on the gene expression which involved in colonic mucosal T helper (T_H) cells’ function. The difference between two groups was identified by independent sample T-test. Symbols indicate significance (∗ ∗ , P < 0.01; ∗ , P < 0.05; #, 0.05 < P < 0.1)