CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Vaginal microenvironment plays a significant role in bovine fertility since its residentmicroorganisms interact with the host mucosa and constitutes the first barrier againstascending pathogens in the reproductive tract. In this study, the vaginal microbiome ofhealthy heifers (H) and cows with impaired reproductive performance, metritis complex(MT) or repeat breeders (RB), was assessed using a 16SrRNA gene sequencingapproach. Analysis revealed that even though a vaginal microbiological guild(Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Tenericutes, Fusobacteria andActinobacteria) was shared among healthy heifers and cows with uterine disease;further analysis at genus level showed significant differences depending on thereproductive health status. The relative abundances of recognized uterine pathogenssuch as Bacteroidetes, Fusobacterium and Helcococcus were higher in MT whencompared with H and RB; therefore, their presence in vagina can be considered as arisk factor for fertility. The present study describes for the first time, the composition ofnative bacterial communities in the vagina of cows undergoing the repeat breedingsyndrome (RBS) and reports an association between this disease and the presence ofPorphyromonas and unassigned genera of the Pasteurellaceae family. In addition, thiswork highlights the bacteria associated with a healthy vagina: genera from the familiesLachnospiraceae, Rikenellaceae and the genera Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Oscillospira,CF231 and 5-7NS. Results highlighted herein, signify the potential of the evaluation ofthe bovine vaginal microbiome to future design therapeutic interventions to improvepregnancy rates however, further research is needed to elucidate the balance ofbacterial species resulting in an optimal reproductive health.

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