A common vaginal microbiota composition among breeds of Bos taurus indicus (Gyr and Nellore)

Abstract

Describing the bovine vaginal microbiota is essential to better understand its physiology and its impact on health maintenance. Despite the economic importance of reproduction of these animals, bovine vaginal microbial community is still poorly described in comparison with rumen microbiome. Previous studies of our group described the vaginal microbiota of Nellore, an important Bos taurus indicus breed, using metagenomics. In order to better understand this microbiota, the present work aims to investigate another important breed, Gyr. Results have shown bacterial dominance over Archaea and Fungi was observed, with the most abundant bacterial phylum (Firmicutes) representing 40-50% of bacterial population, followed by Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. The Fungi kingdom had the Mycosphaerella genus as its main representative, followed by Cladosporium. Archaea were observed at a very low abundance in all animals, with a high relative abundance of Methanobrevibacter genus. These results demonstrate a high microbial diversity on vaginal tract of Gyr, as demonstrated for Nellore and different from the previously described for other species. Our results indicate a great similarity between vaginal microbiota of Nellore and Gyr despite the differences in animal handling and genetic improvement. As observed for both breeds, individual variation is the largest source of microbial diversity between animals.

Staphylococcus Pasteuri (BCVME2) Resident In Buffalo Cervical Vaginal Mucus (CVM) - A Potential Source of Estrus-Specific Sex Pheromone(s)

“…These reports match with the present nding of bacterial community identi ed in CVM of buffalo. On the other hand, major bacterial genera in the vagina of Gyr and Nellore breed cows include Aeribacillus, Bacillus, Clostridium, Bacteroides and Ruminococcus (Giannattasio-Ferraz et al 2019). The present analysis also depicted the presence of Bacillus spp.…”

Microflora in the Reproductive Tract of Cattle: A Review

“…Such bacteria at the phylum level specifically comprised Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria [22,29] as depicted in Figure 2, and that constitute about 30-40% of the total bacteria present in the vaginal niche [30]. Recent studies by Giannattasio-Ferraz et al [31] have also revealed…”

“…Such bacteria at the phylum level specifically comprised Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria [22,29] as depicted in Figure 2, and that constitute about 30-40% of the total bacteria present in the vaginal niche [30]. Recent studies by Giannattasio-Ferraz et al [31] have also revealed a substantial similarity existing between the vaginal microbiota of Nellore cattle and Gyr (which is also another essential breed) and the main bacterial species described were mainly Aeribacillus, Bacillus, Clostridium, Bacteroides, and Ruminococcus. Mycosphaerella was the dominant fungus in this microbiota, while Archaea were poorly represented, and Methanobrevibacter were the most common.…”

Corynebacterium phoceense, resident member of the urogenital microbiota?

“…Recently, two new Corynebacterium, C. urogenitale and C. endometrii, were described, both isolated from the bovine vaginal tract and nonpathogenic for uterine epithelial cells [35,36]. Evidence suggests that many Corynebacterium species are commensal members of the uterine microbiome of cattle [37][38][39][40] and buffalo [41]. Evidence of the SpaD-type pili system (Table 1) conserved among the C. phoceense strains suggests that adhesion is central to its survival.…”