Understanding the dynamic microbial landscape of postpartum inflammatory response in the dairy cow

The postpartum period in dairy cows involves inflammatory-mediated responses like placental expulsion and uterine involution. However, an exacerbated acute-phase response is detrimental to health and productivity, and is associated with disorders like mastitis, metritis, ketosis. While the bovine intestinal microbiota can influence host physiology, its association with postpartum inflammation is poorly understood. In this study fecal microbiota from 71 Holstein cows on days 1 and 3 in milk (DIM) in relation to systemic inflammation, measured by serum haptoglobin and fibrinogen were studied.