Study of the temporal changes in the bovine udder microbioa of healthy quarters

In order to investigate the temporal changes of the udder microbiota, quarter samples were collected from 10 Norwegian Red cows over 5 months. The cows were selected based on their SCC in the three days leading up to the first sampling. Five cows had a low SCC (< 100,000 SCC/mL), while the other five had a heightened SCC (> 100,000 SCC/mL). The samples were analyzed using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes. We found that the microbiota of the low SCC quarters was highly diverse and dynamic. Samples taken from quarters with a high SCC, on the other hand, typically displayed a reduced diversity and often contained a dominant genus.