The Gut Microbiome and Its Potential Role in the Development and Function of Newborn Calf Gastrointestinal Tract

Abstract

A diverse microbial population colonizes the sterile mammalian gastrointestinal tract during and after the birth. There is increasing evidence that this complex microbiome plays a crucial role in the development of the mucosal immune system and influences newborn health. Microbial colonization is a complex process influenced by a two-way interaction between host and microbes and a variety of external factors, including maternal microbiota, birth process, diet, and antibiotics. Following this initial colonization, continuous exposure to host-specific microbes is not only essential for development and maturation of the mucosal immune system but also the nutrition and health of the animal. Thus, it is important to understand host–microbiome interactions within the context of individual animal species and specific management practices. Data is now being generated revealing significant associations between the early microbiome, development of the mucosal immune system, and the growth and health of newborn calves. The current review focuses on recent information and discusses the limitation of current data and the potential challenges to better characterizing key host-specific microbial interactions. We also discuss potential strategies that may be used to manipulate the early microbiome to improve production and health during the time when newborn calves are most susceptible to enteric disease.

Comparative metagenomics of the gut microbiota in wild greylag geese (Anser anser) and ruddy shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea)

“…Trillions of microbes inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals, forming a dynamic ecological community within the gut, which is termed the “gut microbiome” (Ley et al., ; Lloyd‐Price, Abu‐Ali, & Huttenhower, ). A wealth of studies have shown that gut microbiome plays an important role in several fundamental and crucial processes in humans and other animal hosts, such as development (Malmuthuge, Griebel, & Guan, ), immune homeostasis (Ahern, Faith, & Gordon, ), nutrient assimilation (Kau, Ahern, Griffin, Goodman, & Gordon, ), vitamins synthesis and sterols metabolism (O'Mahony, Clarke, Borre, Dinan, & Cryan, ), and diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, and cancer) (Kinross, Darzi, & Nicholson, ; Lee & Hase, ). Given these important findings, many gut microbiome projects have been launched in several countries (Pylro, Mui, Rodrigues, Andreote, & Roesch, ; Stulberg et al., ).…”

Supplementing a yeast probiotic to pre-weaning Holstein calves: Feed intake, growth and fecal biomarkers of gut health

“…Moreover, because of the growing concept that establishing a proper microflora population in the gut can defend against pathogenic infections (Williams, 2010) and early bacterial colonization may impact the growth and development of animals later in life (Malmuthuge et al, 2015), our second objective was to evaluate if the gut microflora was influenced by SCB supplementation. Five general microbial markers associated with animal growth and health, including Escherichia coli (E. coli; Muktar et al, 2015), Clostridium cluster XIVa (Lopetuso et al, 2013), Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (Uyeno et al, 2010) and Bifidobacterium spp.…”

Enteric Immunity

“…The microbiome is essential for immune development in the neonatal calf; then the microbiome-gut-immune-brain axis maintains the health of the calf. [50][51][52][53] As the calf develops, there is a "succession" of microbes that finally culminates in what is called a "climax" community that occurs as the gut transitions to an anaerobic environment. 50,54 Microbiome succession is influenced by nutrition, stress, and environment.…”