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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Metagenetic Analysis of the Pregnant Microbiome in Horses.
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2023; 13(12); 1999; doi: 10.3390/ani13121999

Metagenetic Analysis of the Pregnant Microbiome in Horses.

Abstract: Placentitis is the leading cause of infectious abortion in the horse. Additionally, it can result in weak and/or growth restricted offspring. While the etiology of ascending placentitis is well described in mares, less is known regarding the pathogenesis of other types, such as nocardioform placentitis. This study aims to identify the microbial communities in different body sites of the pregnant mare in early gestation to establish a core microbiome that may be perturbed in pathologic pregnancies such as placentitis. We hypothesize that the equine placenta harbors a distinct resident microbiome in early pregnancy when characterized by metagenetics and that there will be a disparity in bacterial communities from the oral, vaginal, and fecal microbiome. Samples were collected from the oral cavity, vagina, anus, and the allantoic portion of the allantochorion ("placenta") from five pregnant mares between 96 and 120 days of gestation. The V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified for Illumina MiSeq sequencing to examine core bacterial communities present in the different body sites. Microbial community composition of the pregnant ponies by body site was significantly different (Bray-Curtis dissimilarity). The placenta was significantly different from the feces, oral cavity, and vagina. Alpha diversity measuring the Shannon diversity matrix was significant, with the body sites being a compounding variable, meaning there was a difference in richness and evenness in the different microbial communities. Feces had the greatest alpha diversity, while the oral cavity and placenta similarly had the least. In conclusion, metagenetics did reveal distinct community differences in the oral, fecal, vaginal, and placenta cavities of the horse. The equine placenta does show similarities in its microbial communities to the oral cavity. Further research needs to be completed to investigate how bacteria may be translocated to the placenta from these other body sites and how they contribute to the development of placentitis.
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Publication Date: 2023-06-15 PubMed ID: 37370509PubMed Central: PMC10295021DOI: 10.3390/ani13121999Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research explores the different bacterial communities in pregnant mares’ body sites to better understand conditions like placentitis. Here, the focus centers on identifying the core microbiome in early pregnancies, which could be impacted in cases of abnormal pregnancies such as placentitis.

Objective and Hypothesis

  • This study pursued the idea to identify bacterial communities present in different parts of a pregnant mare’s body during early gestation. This is to establish a core microbiome that may be affected during pathological pregnancies such as placentitis.
  • The researchers hypothesized that the equine placenta contains a distinct microbiome in early pregnancy which can be characterized by metagenetics. They also anticipated disparities in bacterial communities from the oral, vaginal, and fecal microbiome.

Methodology

  • Researchers collected samples from the oral cavity, vagina, anus, and placenta of five pregnant mares between 96 and 120 days of gestation.
  • The V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified for Illumina MiSeq sequencing. This step aimed to examine the basic bacterial communities present at different body sites.

Findings

  • It was found that the microbial community composition in pregnant mares varied significantly by body site, evident from the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity.
  • The placenta differed markedly from feces, oral cavity, and vagina. The Shannon diversity matrix, which was used to measure alpha diversity, pointed to significant differences in richness.
  • Among all the body sites, feces had the greatest alpha diversity, while the oral cavity and placenta had the least.

Conclusion and Future Research Direction

  • The metagenetic analysis accurately highlighted distinct community differences in oral, fecal, vaginal, and placenta cavities in horses.
  • Notably, the equine placenta showed similarities in its microbial communities to the oral cavity.
  • The study concluded with a call for further research to understand how bacteria may be transmitted to the placenta from these other body sites and how they contribute to the development of conditions like placentitis.

Cite This Article

APA
Beckers KF, Gomes VCL, Crissman KR, Liu CC, Schulz CJ, Childers GW, Sones JL. (2023). Metagenetic Analysis of the Pregnant Microbiome in Horses. Animals (Basel), 13(12), 1999. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13121999

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 13
Issue: 12
PII: 1999

Researcher Affiliations

Beckers, Kalie F
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Gomes, Viviane C L
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Crissman, Kassandra R
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Liu, Chin-Chi
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Schulz, Christopher J
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA 70402, USA.
Childers, Gary W
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA 70402, USA.
Sones, Jenny L
  • Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that no conflict of interest exist.

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