Delayed differentiation of vaginal and uterine microbiomes in dairy cows developing postpartum endometritis

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 1; p. e0200974
• Main Authors: Miranda-CasoLuengo, Raúl, Lu, Junnan, Williams, Erin J., Miranda-CasoLuengo, Aleksandra A., Carrington, Stephen D., Evans, Alexander C. O., Meijer, Wim G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 10.01.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacterial infections; Bioinformatics; Biology and Life Sciences; Cattle; Cattle Diseases - microbiology; Cattle Diseases - pathology; Computer and Information Sciences; Dairy cattle; Differentiation; Disease; Dispersal; Disruption; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Endometritis; Endometritis - microbiology; Endometritis - pathology; Farms; Female; Gene polymorphism; Genetic polymorphisms; Health aspects; Health care; Infections; Infertility; Medicine and Health Sciences; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota - genetics; Microorganisms; Parturition; Polymorphism; Postpartum; Postpartum Period; Pregnancy; Preventive medicine; Reproductive system; Restriction fragment length polymorphism; Ribosomal DNA; rRNA 16S; Studies; Uterus; Uterus - microbiology; Uterus - pathology; Vagina; Vagina - microbiology; Vagina - pathology; Veterinary colleges; Veterinary medicine; Ireland
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200974

Bacterial overgrowth in the uterus is a normal event after parturition. In contrast to the healthy cow, animals unable to control the infection within 21 days after calving develop postpartum endometritis. Studies on the Microbial Ecology of the bovine reproductive tract have focused on either vaginal or uterine microbiomes. This is the first study that compares both microbiomes in the same animals. Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism of the 16S rRNA gene showed that despite large differences associated to individuals, a shared community exist in vagina and uterus during the postpartum period. The largest changes associated with development of endometritis were observed at 7 days postpartum, a time when vaginal and uterine microbiomes were most similar. 16S rRNA pyrosequencing of the vaginal microbiome at 7 days postpartum showed at least three different microbiome types that were associated with later development of postpartum endometritis. All three microbiome types featured reduced bacterial diversity. Taken together, the above findings support a scenario where disruption of the compartmentalization of the reproductive tract during parturition results in the dispersal and mixing of the vaginal and uterine microbiomes, which subsequently are subject to differentiation. This differentiation was observed early postpartum in the healthy cow. In contrast, loss of bacterial diversity and dominance of the microbiome by few bacterial taxa were related to a delayed succession at 7DPP in cows that at 21 DPP or later were diagnosed with endometritis.