title: The bovine milk microbiota: insights and perspectives from -omics studies.
abstract: Recent significant progress in culture-independent techniques, together with the parallel development of -omics technologies and data analysis capabilities, have led to a new perception of the milk microbiota as a complex microbial community with great diversity and multifaceted biological roles, living in an environment that was until recently believed to be sterile. In this review, we summarize and discuss the latest findings on the milk microbiota in dairy cows, with a focus on the role it plays in bovine physiology and health. Following an introduction on microbial communities and the importance of their study, we present an overview of the -omics methods currently available for their characterization, and outline the potential offered by a systems biology approach encompassing metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metametabolomics. Then, we review the recent discoveries on the dairy cow milk microbiome enabled by the application of -omics approaches. Learning from studies in humans and in the mouse model, and after a description of the endogenous route hypothesis, we discuss the role of the milk microbiota in the physiology and health of both the mother and the offspring, and report how it can be changed by farming practices and during infection. In conclusion, we shortly outline the impact of the milk microbiota on the quality of milk and of dairy products.
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, SP 55 Porto Conte/Capo Caccia, Loc. Tramariglio, 07041 Alghero, Italy. addis@portocontericerche.it.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Addis
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, SP 55 Porto Conte/Capo Caccia, Loc. Tramariglio, 07041 Alghero, Italy. addis@portocontericerche.it.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanca
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, SP 55 Porto Conte/Capo Caccia, Loc. Tramariglio, 07041 Alghero, Italy. addis@portocontericerche.it and Università degli Studi di Sassari, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Viale S. Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uzzau
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Population Health, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oikonomou
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Bicalho
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA and Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moroni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008414:Mastitis, Bovine / Q000382:microbiology; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D054892:Metagenome; D056186:Metagenomics / Q000379:methods; D064307:Microbiota; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S