Fig. 7
Correlation and network analysis. A Pearson correlation analysis reveals relationships among serum indicators, meat quality traits, differentially expressed genes (DEGs), colonic fermentation parameters, enzyme activities, and microbiota. Positive correlations are displayed in red and negative correlations in blue, with darker shades indicating stronger associations. Colored rectangles represent distinct indicators for each cattle group. B Pearson correlation and network analyses were employed to construct an interaction network diagram integrating DEGs, microbes, metabolites, serum parameters, and meat quality traits. The diagram uses pink solid or dashed lines to represent positive correlations and light blue solid or dashed lines for negative correlations, with the thickness of the lines indicating the strength of each correlation. Bubble colors denote various parameters: orange for psoas major (PM) muscle DEGs, light brown for colon DEGs, green for differential microbes, light red for colon metabolites, light purple for serum indices, and light blue for meat nutritional components. The size of each bubble corresponds to the correlation coefficient, providing a comprehensive visualization of the complex interactions among multidimensional biological features. Statistical significance is indicated as * (P < 0.05), ** (P < 0.01), and *** (P < 0.001)