Effects of the Maternal Gut and Reproductive Microbiome on Postnatal Development in Ruminants

Abstract The microbial communities residing within the gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts are vital to cattle health; not only for their involvement in nutrient metabolism, but also for their ability to influence infectious and metabolic diseases as well as reproductive efficiency. Therefore, harnessing the ruminal and vagino-uterine microbiomes for improved cattle health and productivity have recently become an active area of research in an era where microbiome manipulation holds as much potential as genetic selection and management refinement for enhancing herd productivity. New developments highlight that the maternal gut and reproductive microbiome extend their impact to offspring development and health. These developments include the demonstrations of maternal gut microbiota involvement in developmental programming in murine models, and increased evidence supporting the existence of in utero microbial colonization and the role of maternal nutrition on fetal programming in cattle. Our recent work has focused on understanding the role of the maternal microbiota and feto-maternal microbial crosstalk in fetal programming and offspring microbiome development. Our lab has investigated the impacts of maternal dietary restriction, supplementation of one carbon metabolites or vitamins and minerals during gestation on maternal ruminal and vaginal microbiota; as well as pre- and postnatal microbial colonization in offspring calves. Our results indicate that maternal dietary alterations during pregnancy may influence ruminal and vaginal microbiota of dams, which may subsequently impact early life microbial colonization in calves being gestated. Our findings call for further research in the area of maternal gut and reproductive microbiome alterations and their impacts on fetal programming and offspring development in ruminants.