Fecal microbiota profiling in organic and conventional dairy farms differing in farm-level somatic cell counts and raw milk bacterial infections.

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the fecal bacterial communities in commercial dairy farms with varying milk quality, defined by differences in somatic cell counts, to elucidate their association with productive performance and the presence of intramammary bacterial infections. Four dairy farms, selected to represent diverse management environments, included one organic farm (OF) and three conventional farms (CF1, CF2, and CF3), with comparable parity ranges and days in milk, while somatic cell counts across farms ranged from 52.9 to 390.3 × 10³ cells/mL. Fecal bacterial community analysis identified 13 phyla and 190 genera, among which Order Lachnospirales (o_Lachnospirales), genus UCG-010 (g_UCG-010), and genus Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group (g_Rikene

SUBMITTER: Kim SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12833970 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature