Metagenomic and proteomic analyses reveal similar reproductive microbial profiles and shared functional pathways in uterine immune regulation in mares and jennies.

ABSTRACT: This study aims to unveil potential differences in the vaginal and uterine microbiomes in mares and jennies, and to identify possible mechanisms involved in uterine immune homeostasis. The microbiota was characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing, and the uterine proteome was analyzed using UHPLC/MS/MS in 18 samples from healthy mares and 14 from jennies. While taxonomic analysis revealed high interspecies similarities, β-diversity analysis showed distinct clustering, with only two vaginal taxa and five uterine taxa differing between species. Despite compositional differences, PICRUSt analysis suggested minimal variations in predicted functional pathways across species. Comparing vaginal and uterine microbiota within the same species revealed overlapping bacterial taxa, but significant differ

SUBMITTER: da Silva-Alvarez E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12002498 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature