Characterization of the Vaginal Microbiota of Ewes and Cows Reveals a Unique Microbiota with Low Levels of Lactobacilli and Near-Neutral pH.

ABSTRACT: Although a number of common reproductive disorders in livestock involve bacterial infection, very little is known about their normal vaginal microbiota. Therefore, we sought to determine the species composition of sheep and cattle vaginal microbiota. Twenty Rambouillet ewes and twenty crossbred cows varying in age and reproductive status were sampled by ectocervicovaginal lavage. We amplified and sequenced the V3-V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) contents yielding a total of 907,667 high-quality reads. Good's Coverage estimates indicated that we obtained data on 98 ± 0.01% of the total microbial genera present in each sample. Cow and ewe vaginal microbiota displayed few differences. Cow microbiota exhibited greater (P ≤ 0.05) α-diversity compared to the ewe microbiota. Both livesto

SUBMITTER: Swartz JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4672155 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature