Comparison of changes in fecal microbiota of calves with and without damOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers compared fecal microbiota development in 16 healthy Yak x Pian cattle calves over 95 days, split into calves raised with a dam (heifer) versus calves raised without a dam and fed milk replacer instead.
How was it studied?
Fecal samples were collected at 35, 65 and 95 days of age and analyzed by high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing to track bacterial diversity, phylum-level shifts, and genus-level changes over time.
What did they find?
On day 35, diversity differed between groups, but by day 95 richness and diversity were nearly equal. In calves with a dam, Firmicutes rose over time while Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria fell; in calves without a dam, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria rose through day 65 then fell by day 95. Community structure in dam-reared calves stabilized by day 65, while calves without a dam did not stabilize until day 95. Lactobacillus abundance declined and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005 increased with age in both groups.
Why it matters?
Nursing with a dam supports a more diverse, even, and earlier-stabilizing gut microbiome in calves, which may inform weaning timing and rearing practices in beef cattle systems facing calf malnutrition and high mortality.