Analysis of bovine colostrum microbiota at a dairy farm in Ningxia, China

Abstract Bovine colostrum samples were collected from 9 healthy cows at 4 time points (0, 1, 2, and 6 d after calving) at a dairy farm in Ningxia, China, and the bacterial diversity was explored using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. Colostrum samples were dominated by phyla of Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria with 35 predominant genera, including Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Escherichia Shigella, Collinsella, Klebsiella, Alistipes, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Prevotella 9, and Bifidobacterium. The core microbiota of bovine colostrum contained 58 genera and 5 species. The alpha and beta diversity analysis indicated bovine colostrum microbiota was stable at the first 3 days but changed at 6 d. At 6 d, the relative abundance of most predominant genera decreased, while Escherichia_Shigella, Acinetobacter, Lactococcus, and Streptococcus increased.