Establishment of the uterine microbiome following artificial insemination in virgin heifers

作者：J.G.N. Moraes, Tamara Gull, Aaron C. Ericsson, S.E. Poock, M.O. Caldeira, M.C. Lucy · 发表于：Frontiers in Microbiology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3389/fmicb.2024.1385505 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Reproductive Physiology in Livestock、Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock、Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock

Introduction The concept of a sterile uterus was challenged by recent studies that have described the microbiome of the virgin and pregnant uterus for species including humans and cattle. We designed two studies that tested whether the microbiome is introduced into the uterus when the virgin heifer is first inseminated and whether the origin of the microbiome is the vagina/cervix. Methods The uterine microbiome was measured immediately before and after an artificial insemination (AI; Study 1; n = 7 AI and n = 6 control) and 14 d after insemination (Study 2; n = 12 AI and n = 12 control) in AI and non-AI (control) Holstein heifers. A third study (Study 3; n = 5 Holstein heifers) that included additional negative controls was subsequently conducted to support the presence of a unique microbiome within the uterus despite the low microbial biomass and regardless of insemination. Traditional bacteriological culture was performed in addition to 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the same samples to determine whether there were viable organisms in addition to those detected based on DNA sequencing (16S rRNA gene sequence). Results and discussion Inseminating a heifer did not lead to a large change in the microbiome when assessed by traditional methods of bacterial culture or metataxonomic (16S rRNA gene) sequencing (results of Studies 1 and 2). Very few bacteria were cultured from the body or horn of the uterus regardless of whether an AI was or was not (negative control) performed. The cu...