Fig. 3

Fungal communities are associated with host obese phenotype. A–D α-Diversity (Chao1, Shannon, and observed species) (A), beta-diversity (PCA plot) (B), the top 5 fungal phyla (C), and the top 100 fungal genres (D) between obese (31.9 ± 1.29 g) and lean (30.02 ± 0.96 g) mice. C57BL/6 mice (7 weeks old, male) fed HFD for 12 weeks, and the half mice with higher body weight gain were grouped as fat; the remaining mice with lower body weight gain were named lean subjects (n = 9). A total of 10/100 differentiated fungal genres were marked with names. E Five fungus correlated to fat content through Pearson correlation and regression analysis. F–J Body weight (F), final body weight (G), the relative weight of SAT (H) and PEAT (I), and the adipocyte area of SAT (HE staining, × 400) in fungus-treated HFD mice. HFD mice (7 weeks old, male, C57BL/6) were colonized with fungus Ascomycota_sp. (Asco) and Microascaceae_sp. (Micro) for 14 weeks to test the role of fat weight-related fungi in HFD-induced obesity (n = 13–16). Differences among the groups were compared using Student’s t-test. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ns p > 0.05