Bovine Animal Model for Studying the Maternal Microbiome, in utero Microbial Colonization and Their Role in Offspring Development and Fetal Programming

Abstract

Recent developments call for further research on the timing and mechanisms involved in the initial colonization of the fetal/infant gut by the maternal microbiome and its role in Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). Although progress has been made using primarily preterm infants, ethical and legal constraints hinder research progress in embryo/fetal-related research and understanding the developmental and mechanistic roles of the maternal microbiome in fetal microbial imprinting and its long-term role in early-life microbiome development. Rodent models have proven very good for studying the role of the maternal microbiome in fetal programming. However, some inherent limitations in these animal models make it challenging to study perinatal microbial colonization from a biomedical standpoint. In this review, we discuss the potential use of bovine animals as a biomedical model to study the maternal microbiome, in utero microbial colonization of the fetal gut, and their impact on offspring development and DOHaD.

Bacterial Contamination of the Surgical Site at the Time of Elective Caesarean Section in Belgian Blue Cows—Part 2: Identified by 16Sr DNA Amplicon Sequencing

“…The results of these studies unveiled unknown information about the microbiota of several tissues and organs previously considered sterile. Moreover, these studies were used to design, to criticise and to interpret the results of our research [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 41 ].…”

“…The lack of research dealing with the microbiota composition of surgical sites results from the difficulty to design an absolute study allowing a complete interpretation of the results. In addition, traditional hurdles faced within the study of the cattle’s microbiota are cows’ cost, housing and environmental sterileness [ 41 ]. The polyvalent causes of the surgical site contamination during the elective CS made it more challenging, especially to find the origin of the identified bacteria.…”

“…The composition of the surgical site’s microbiota during the CS realisation might be influenced by the endogenous contamination, which could be provided by the foetal fluids [ 23 , 24 ], or by the haematogenous spread of cows’ bacteria [ 6 , 25 ]. In addition to that, the environmental bacteria could be an important source of contamination, since usually the CS is performed in unclean conditions [ 23 , 41 , 42 ]. The assessment of bacteria’s origin is more challenging, as the same bacteria might come from different sources of contamination [ 21 , 41 ].…”

“…In addition to that, the environmental bacteria could be an important source of contamination, since usually the CS is performed in unclean conditions [ 23 , 41 , 42 ]. The assessment of bacteria’s origin is more challenging, as the same bacteria might come from different sources of contamination [ 21 , 41 ]. Moreover, although it is strongly believed that the peritoneum is sterile [ 43 ], the microbiota composition of healthy peritoneum is never documented, indicating that the identified bacteria might be the normal flora of this serosa [ 43 ].…”

“…This might be secondary to the foetal fluid bacteria. Indeed, several bacteria identified in the surgical site are also highlighted in the foetal fluids and meconium of new-born calves [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 41 ].…”