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Review
. 2024 Jul 3;14(13):1971.
doi: 10.3390/ani14131971.

Updates and Current Challenges in Reproductive Microbiome: A Comparative Analysis between Cows and Women

Amanda Fonseca Zangirolamo  1   2 , Anne Kemmer Souza  2 , Deborah Nakayama Yokomizo  2 , Ana Karolyne Alves Miguel  2 , Márcio Carvalho da Costa  3 , Amauri Alcindo Alfieri  1 , Marcelo Marcondes Seneda  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Updates and Current Challenges in Reproductive Microbiome: A Comparative Analysis between Cows and Women

Amanda Fonseca Zangirolamo et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The microbiota plays an important role in numerous physiological processes, pathogenesis, development, and metabolism in different animal species. In humans, several studies have demonstrated an association between the vaginal microbiota and fertility rates, and even success in assisted reproduction techniques. In the context of cattle reproduction, although few studies have addressed the microbiota in a healthy state (which is not associated with diseases that affect the reproductive tract of cows), changes in its composition also seem to influence fertility. This review aims to explain the importance of the reproductive microbiota in female bovines and what is available in the literature regarding its possible role in increasing fertility. What are the challenges involved in this process? Future perspectives on its use and manipulation as a selection or intervention tool. Will it be possible to one day extrapolate the findings to reality and apply them in the field? In short, understanding the role of the reproductive microbiota of female bovines can signal the prospect of increasing production, whether of milk or meat, from the same number of animals, as it can optimize reproductive efficiency and perhaps become an allied tool for the economic profitability and sustainability of livestock farming.

Keywords: cattle; microbiota manipulation; reproduction; uterine microbiota; vaginal microbiota.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representation of bacterial phyla (A) and genera (B) reported in the vaginal microbiota in healthy female cattle. The data do not represent relative abundance; instead, the number of articles/studies found reporting the presence of the same genus and phylum are shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Representation of bacterial phyla (A) and genera (B) reported in the uterine microbiota in healthy female cattle. The data do not represent relative abundance; instead, the number of articles and studies found reporting the presence of the same genus and phylum are shown.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Representation of the uterine/vaginal environment in the absence of healthy microbiota. (B) Uterine/vaginal environment in the presence of healthy microbiota, which prevents the development of diseases. (C) Possible tools to improve the composition of healthy uterine/vaginal microbiota.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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