Recent research suggests that the microbial colonization of the mammalian intestine may begin before birth, but the observations are controversial due to challenges in the reliable sampling and analysis of low-abundance microbiota. We studied the perinatal microbiota of calves by sampling them immediately at birth and during the first postnatal week. The large size of the bovine newborns allows sampling directly from rectum using contamination-shielded swabs. Our 16S rDNA data, purged of potential contaminant sequences shared with negative controls, indicates the existence of a diverse low-abundance microbiota in the newborn rectal meconium and mucosa. The newborn rectal microbiota was composed of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The microbial profile resembled dam oral rather than fecal or vaginal vestibular microbiota, but included typical intestinal taxa. During the first postnatal day, the rectum was invaded byEscherichia/ShigellaandClostridia, and the diversity collapsed. By 7 days, diversity was again increasing. In terms of relative abundance, Proteobacteria were replaced by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria, includingFaecalibacterium,Bacteroides,Lactobacillus,ButyricicoccusandBifidobacterium. Our observations suggest that mammals are seeded before birth with a diverse microbiota, but the microbiota changes rapidly in the early postnatal life.

The establishment of the intestinal microbiota is critical for the digestive and immune systems. We studied the early development of the rectal microbiota in horse, a hindgut fermenter, from birth until 7 days of age, by qPCR and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. To evaluate initial sources of the foal microbiota, we characterised dam fecal, vaginal and oral microbiotas. We utilised an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) pipeline to maximise resolution and reproducibility. Stringent ASV filtering based on prevalence and abundance in samples and controls purged contaminants while preserving intestinal taxa. Sampled within 20 minutes after birth, rectal meconium contained small amounts of diverse bacterial DNA, with a profile closer to mare feces than mouth. 24 hours after birth, rectum was colonised by Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, some foals dominated by single genera. At day 7, the rectal genera were still different from adult feces. The mare vaginal microbiota contributed to 24 h and 7 day microbiotas. It contained few lactobacilli, withCorynebacterium,Porphyromonas,CampylobacterandHelcococcusas the most abundant genera. In the oral mucosa,Gemellawas extremely abundant. Our observations indicate that bacteria or bacterial components are present in the intestine immediately after birth, but the newborn microbiota changes rapidly.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

(1) Background: The aim of the current pilot study was to describe the long-term effects of a single intra-articular injection of autologous stromal vascular fraction (SVF) with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in dogs with confirmed elbow OA, using orthopedic lameness scoring and kinetic and kinematic gait analysis. For comparison of normal long-term variation of gait over time, a group of healthy control dogs (CDs) was also evaluated. (2) Methods: A prospective longitudinal clinical pilot study investigating 19 client-owned dogs with elbow OA (OADs) treated with SVF and PRP and eight CDs not receiving treatment. The OAD and CD groups were evaluated before and after 6 and at least 12 months following treatment with SVF and PRP (OAD group) and twice with a six-month interval (CD group), respectively, through orthopedic examinations, goniometry, and kinetic and kinematic analyses (seven variables). (3) Results: The OAD had an increase in fore–hind peak force symmetry ≥12 months after treatment (p < 0.05), but no other objective variables changed over time. Orthopedic consensus scores had improved at ≥six months follow-up evaluation (p < 0.05). None of the investigated gait variables had changed at ≥six months follow-up evaluation in the CD group. (4) Conclusions: The current study could not confirm a significant benefit from SVF and PRP treatment in OADs, but future studies should be conducted in order to fully evaluate the potential of the treatment. The improvement seen in fore–hindlimb symmetry may represent an improvement in gait or an incidental finding.

The establishment of the intestinal microbiota is critical for the digestive and immune systems. We studied the early development of the microbiota in horse, a hindgut fermenter, from birth until 7 days of age, by qPCR and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. To evaluate initial sources of foal microbiota, we characterized dam fecal, vaginal and oral microbiotas. We utilised an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) based pipeline to maximize resolution and reproducibility. Stringent ASV filtering based on prevalence and abundance in samples and controls purged reagent contaminants while preserving intestinal taxa. The newborn rectum contained small amounts of diverse bacterial DNA, with a profile closer to mare feces and vagina than mouth. 24 hours after birth, the intestine was colonized by Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, some foals dominated by a single genus. At day 7, the phylum-level composition resembled adult feces but genera were different. The mare vaginal microbiota contributed to 24 h and 7 day microbiotas. It contained few lactobacilli, with Corynebacterium , Porphyromonas , Campylobacter and Helcococcus as the most abundant genera. In the oral mucosa, Gemella was extremely abundant. Our observations suggest that bacteria or bacterial components translocate to the equine fetus, but the intestinal microbiota changes rapidly after birth.