Abstract
Natural transference of maternal microbes to the neonate, especially at birth via the vaginal canal, has recently been recognized in humans and cows; however, its microbial influence on calf health has not yet been documented. We compared the bacterial communities in vaginal and fecal samples from 81 pregnant dairy cows versus those in nasopharyngeal and fecal samples collected at 3, 14 and 35 days of life from their respective progeny. The microbiota of the calf upper respiratory tract (URT), regardless of calf age, was found to be highly similar to the maternal vaginal microbiota. Calf fecal microbiota clustered closely to the maternal fecal microbiota, progressing toward an adult-like state over the first 35 days when relative abundances of taxa were considered. Sixty-four, 65 and 87% of the detected OTUs were shared between cow and calf fecal microbiota at days 3, 14 and 35 respectively, whereas 73, 76 and 87% were shared between maternal vaginal microbiome and calf URT microbiota at days 3, 14 and 35, respectively. Bacteroidetes, Ruminococcus, Clostridium, and Blautia were the top four genera identified in maternal and calf fecal samples. Mannheimia, Moraxella, Bacteroides, Streptococcus and Pseudomonas were the top five genera identified in maternal vaginal and calf URT samples. Mannheimia was relatively more abundant in the vaginal microbiota of cows whose progeny were diagnosed with respiratory and middle ear disease. Our results indicate that maternal vaginal microbiota potentially influences the initial bacterial colonization of the calf URT, and that might have an important impact on the health of the calf respiratory tract and middle ear.
Highlights
Our understanding of the complex ruminant microbiome and recognition of the importance of the host-microbiome interaction have significantly expanded in the last few years
Our results indicate that the composition of the dam vaginal and calf upper respiratory tract (URT) microbial communities overlap by 63%
The dam vaginal microbiota appears to be vertically transmitted to the URT of the newborn calf (3 days of life) and to persist, at least until 35 days of life
Summary
Our understanding of the complex ruminant microbiome and recognition of the importance of the host-microbiome interaction have significantly expanded in the last few years. It has been shown that the composition of the bovine microbiome can affect host health status [10,11,12] and animal performance [13]. Studies in humans unveiled the potential for transference of bacterial communities from the mother to her progeny during pregnancy [14, 15] and the vertical transference via the birth canal during delivery [16, 17]. Numerous immunological and hormonal changes during pregnancy affect maternal immune regulation, leading to an anti-inflammatory biased response. This phenomenon affects the developing immune system of the fetus [18,19,20], which might facilitate perinatal microbial colonization, especially at birth, by the mother’s microbiome. Its disruption, by interrupting the vertical transference of bacterial organisms from the mother to the newborn (e.g., as occurs with the C-section procedure), has been shown to be associated with negative downstream consequences such as asthma and allergic disorders [25, 26]
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