Characterization of the Fecal Bacterial Microbiota of Healthy and Diarrheic Dairy Calves

Gomez, D.E.; Arroyo, L.G.; Costa, M.C.; Viel, L.; Weese, J.S.

Various studies have described the development of the gastrointestinal microbiota of calves 12,23-28 and the changes associated with different management practices including feeding, housing, and antimicrobial administration during the neonatal period. 29, 30 However, limited information is available regarding the specific changes occurring in the fecal microbiota and the functional genes in calves with neonatal diarrhea. [31] [32] [33] We identified significant differences in the fecal microbiota and its predicted functional metabolic pathways in healthy and diarrheic calves from 2 large dairy farms with different management practices. The analyses evaluating the similarity of community membership and structure of the fecal microbiota showed that calves from the same farm shared similar microbial communities regardless of the health status when compared to healthy and diarrheic calves from a different farm. The degree of interfarm variation is important to recognize, particularly because earlier studies have been based primarily on animals from single facilities. These data indicate potentially important differences between facilities that must be considered when designing and interpreting microbiota studies.