Theses and Dissertations
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5170-4808
Advisor
Fan, Peixin
Committee Member
McGee, Marcus
Committee Member
Smith, Trent
Date of Degree
8-13-2024
Original embargo terms
Visible MSU Only 1 year
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only
Major
Agriculture (Animal Science)
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
College
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences
Abstract
A healthy gut microbiome is crucial for the development, growth, and health of dairy calves; however, diarrhea in pre-weaned calves is highly prevalent, difficult to treat, and causes detrimental effects to the dairy industry. This study characterized early gut microbiota using longread-based 16S rRNA gene sequencing and investigated its associations with calf diarrhea and colostrum microbiota. The full-length 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced on a Nanopore sequencer. We identified shared bacterial species in colostrum and calf feces, whose abundance in calf feces reduced with age. Diarrheic calves exhibited differing gut diversity before, during, and after diarrhea, and harbored increased bacteria resistant to the Cefotaxime antibiotic. Several bacterial species were associated with age and calf health. Additionally, a machine learning model identified bacteria to predict diarrhea. This study will be useful for the goal of reducing antibiotic use to promote gut health and prevent and treat neonatal calf diarrhea.
Recommended Citation
Hawkins, Jalyn Grace, "Understanding the relationship between neonatal dairy calves’ gut microbiota and incidence of diarrhea using full-length 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and machine learning" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 6261.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/6261