Abstract:
In current agriculture practices, such as the dairy
industry, the use of antibiotics is being discouraged
due to the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
However, antibiotics are used commonly to treat
calf diarrhea, which is a serious issue that negatively
influences calf health, growth, and development.
Recent research highlights the gut microbiota as a
potential source to improve the gut health of a calf,
which could minimize the antibiotic use. However,
limited knowledge is available for the early life gut
microbiota and its relationship with calf’s performance.
It is known that the microbiota has an influence on
immune system development, as well as behavioral
development, and metabolic development. Further, an
atypical microbial population, or a microbial shift, has
been linked to autoimmune, anxiety and metabolic
disorders. The process of microbial and host interactions
starts at birth, suggesting that mammals are initially
colonized by microbes immediately following and
during birth. Differing modes of delivery, caesarian or
vaginal delivery, and possibly the length of time of the
birthing process, may determine initial colonization of
the infant. Further, the establishment of the microbiota
can be influenced by host genetics, diet, and maternal
environment. Therefore, this review aims to summarize
the current understanding of the neonatal mammalian
microbiota obtained from human and mice studies,
and to outline future research directions on microbial
colonization and possible manipulation strategies that
can be used to manipulate the gut microbiota in dairy
calves. By understanding the process of how mammals
and microbes interact it is possible to better target future
research in order to solve the problem of calf diarrhea.
