Composition and the early development of the fecal and oral microbiota in Norwegian Red calves

Abstract

To explore the composition and development of the microbiota of the newborn calf, samples of the feces and the oral mucosa were taken from eight calves and their mother at birth. The calves were also sampled two days later. In addition, vaginal mucosal and colostrum samples from the dams were taken at time of birth to create a dataset for future research.

The analysis of the calf and cow fecal and oral mucosal microbiota was done by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Significantly more Firmicutes were found in the feces of the dams, while the calf feces at two days of age contained significantly more Proteobacteria. The analysis showed that the fecal microbiota of the calves was significantly different from the dams' fecal microbiota at both timepoints of sampling, and the calves’ fecal microbiota developed quickly after birth.

There was a change and reduction in richness in the fecal microbiota of the calves during its first two days of life. Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus and Bacteroides were the most abundant genera at birth, while Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides and Butyricoccus were the most abundant genera two days later.

The oral microbiota of the calves went through a statistically significant change during the first two days. Acinetobacter, Enterococcus and Ruminococcaceae were the most abundant genera after birth. Two days later there had been a shift in the microbiota, and the oral samples of the calves now resembled the oral microbiota of the dam. Porphyromonas, Neisseria and Acinetobacter were now the most abundant phyla.