Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle
The bovine genital tract harbors a dynamic microbiome. Genital tract microbial communities in healthy animals have been characterized using next-generation sequencing methods showing that microbe compositions differ between the vagina and uterus, more so during the postpartum period. Pre-calving fec...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/7/1221 |
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| author | Taurai Tasara Anja Barbara Meier Joseph Wambui Ronan Whiston Marc Stevens Aspinas Chapwanya Ulrich Bleul |
| author_facet | Taurai Tasara Anja Barbara Meier Joseph Wambui Ronan Whiston Marc Stevens Aspinas Chapwanya Ulrich Bleul |
| author_sort | Taurai Tasara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The bovine genital tract harbors a dynamic microbiome. Genital tract microbial communities in healthy animals have been characterized using next-generation sequencing methods showing that microbe compositions differ between the vagina and uterus, more so during the postpartum period. Pre-calving fecal and vaginal, and endometrial swabs at the different postpartum intervals were collected from dairy cows. Microbiomes in these samples were determined based on bacterial 16S amplicon sequencing and compared between healthy (H; <i>n</i> = 10) control animals and cows that developed metritis (M; <i>n</i> = 10) within 21 days postpartum (DPP). Compared to healthy animals the pre-calving fecal and vaginal microbiomes of metritis animals were more abundant in sequences from the phylum Fusobacteria and the bacterial genera such as <i>Escherichia-Shigella</i> and <i>Histophilus</i>. In addition, compared to healthy animals, metritis cows harboured low microbial species diversity in the endometrium, as well as decreasing Proteobacteria and increasing Fusobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes abundances. The greatest taxonomic compositional deviations in endometrial microbial communities between the metritis and health cows were detected between 7 and 10 DPP. There was high taxonomic similarity detected between postpartum endometrial microbiomes and the prepartum vaginal and fecal microbiomes suggesting that colonization through bacteria ascending from the rectum and vagina to the uterine cavity might play a major role in establishing the endometrial microbiome postpartum. A deeper understanding of the establishment and dynamics of postpartum endometrial microbial communities in cows will thus provide crucial basic knowledge to guide the development of genital microbiome manipulation strategies for preventing uterine disease and improving fertility in dairy cows. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:43:47Z |
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| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:43:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-639d3ec6438142f1b6d26e6a41bf45f72023-11-17T16:14:27ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-03-01137122110.3390/ani13071221Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy CattleTaurai Tasara0Anja Barbara Meier1Joseph Wambui2Ronan Whiston3Marc Stevens4Aspinas Chapwanya5Ulrich Bleul6Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandMSD Animal Health Switzerland, 6005 Lucerne, SwitzerlandInstitute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre 00265, Saint Kitts and NevisInstitute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre 00265, Saint Kitts and NevisDepartment of Farm Animals, Clinic of Reproductive Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandThe bovine genital tract harbors a dynamic microbiome. Genital tract microbial communities in healthy animals have been characterized using next-generation sequencing methods showing that microbe compositions differ between the vagina and uterus, more so during the postpartum period. Pre-calving fecal and vaginal, and endometrial swabs at the different postpartum intervals were collected from dairy cows. Microbiomes in these samples were determined based on bacterial 16S amplicon sequencing and compared between healthy (H; <i>n</i> = 10) control animals and cows that developed metritis (M; <i>n</i> = 10) within 21 days postpartum (DPP). Compared to healthy animals the pre-calving fecal and vaginal microbiomes of metritis animals were more abundant in sequences from the phylum Fusobacteria and the bacterial genera such as <i>Escherichia-Shigella</i> and <i>Histophilus</i>. In addition, compared to healthy animals, metritis cows harboured low microbial species diversity in the endometrium, as well as decreasing Proteobacteria and increasing Fusobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes abundances. The greatest taxonomic compositional deviations in endometrial microbial communities between the metritis and health cows were detected between 7 and 10 DPP. There was high taxonomic similarity detected between postpartum endometrial microbiomes and the prepartum vaginal and fecal microbiomes suggesting that colonization through bacteria ascending from the rectum and vagina to the uterine cavity might play a major role in establishing the endometrial microbiome postpartum. A deeper understanding of the establishment and dynamics of postpartum endometrial microbial communities in cows will thus provide crucial basic knowledge to guide the development of genital microbiome manipulation strategies for preventing uterine disease and improving fertility in dairy cows.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/7/1221bacteriametritisRNA sequencingmicrobiomebovineendometrium |
| spellingShingle | Taurai Tasara Anja Barbara Meier Joseph Wambui Ronan Whiston Marc Stevens Aspinas Chapwanya Ulrich Bleul Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle Animals bacteria metritis RNA sequencing microbiome bovine endometrium |
| title | Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle |
| title_full | Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle |
| title_fullStr | Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle |
| title_short | Interrogating the Diversity of Vaginal, Endometrial, and Fecal Microbiomes in Healthy and Metritis Dairy Cattle |
| title_sort | interrogating the diversity of vaginal endometrial and fecal microbiomes in healthy and metritis dairy cattle |
| topic | bacteria metritis RNA sequencing microbiome bovine endometrium |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/7/1221 |
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