Interrelationships of Fiber-Associated Anaerobic Fungi and Bacterial Communities in the Rumen of Bloated Cattle Grazing Alfalfa.

Frothy bloat is major digestive disorder of cattle grazing alfalfa pastures. Among the many factors identified to contribute to the development of frothy bloat, the disruption of rumen microbiota appears to be of central importance. Anaerobic rumen fungi (ARF) play an important role in sequential breakdown and fermentation of plant polysaccharides and promote the physical disruption of plant cell walls.

Invited review: Microbiota of the bovine udder: Contributing factors and potential implications for udder health and mastitis susceptibility.

Various body sites of vertebrates provide stable and nutrient-rich ecosystems for a diverse range of commensal, opportunistic, and pathogenic microorganisms to thrive. The collective genomes of these microbial symbionts (the microbiome) provide host animals with several advantages, including metabolism of indigestible carbohydrates, biosynthesis of vitamins, and modulation of innate and adaptive immune systems. In the context of the bovine udder, however, the relationship between cow and microbes has been traditionally viewed strictly from the perspective of host-pathogen interactions, with intramammary infections by mastitis pathogens triggering inflammatory responses (i.