Temporal dynamics of the fecal microbiota in veal calves in a 6-month field trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Little is known about maturation of calves' gut microbiome in veal farms, in which animals are confined under intensive-farming conditions and the administration of collective antibiotic treatment in feed is common. We conducted a field study on 45 calves starting seven days after their arrival in three veal farms. We collected monthly fecal samples over six months and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR of Escherichia coli to follow the dynamics of their microbiota, including that of their commensal E. coli populations. We used mixed-effect models to characterize the dynamics of α-diversity indices and numbers of E. coli, and searched for an effect of collective antibiotic treatments on the estimated parameters. On two farms, we also searched for ass

SUBMITTER: Massot M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7807794 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature