Bacterial Community Dynamics across the Gastrointestinal Tracts of Dairy Calves during Preweaning Development.

ABSTRACT: Microbial communities play critical roles in the gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of preruminant calves by influencing performance and health. However, little is known about the establishment of microbial communities in the calf GIT or their dynamics during development. In this study, next-generation sequencing was used to assess changes in the bacterial communities of the rumen, jejunum, cecum, and colon in 26 crossbred calves at four developmental stages (7, 28, 49, and 63 days old). Alpha diversity differed among GIT regions with the lowest diversity and evenness in the jejunum, whereas no changes in alpha diversity were observed across developmental stage. Beta diversity analysis showed both region and age effects, with low numbers of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) shared between regi

SUBMITTER: Dias J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5930334 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature