Fecal, Milk, Uterine, Airborne Dust, and Water Microbiota in Dairy Farms in Southern Vietnam: A Pilot Study

Six sets of fecal, milk, and uterine samples from dairy cows and two sets of airborne dust and water samples from the cowshed were collected from two farms in Ho Chi Minh City at 20–40 days postpartum. The microbiota was characterized using Illumina sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA genes. The predominant species in the fecal microbiota was not as predominant in the milk microbiota, but occasionally appeared in the uterine microbiota. The microbiota from the airborne dust and water samples did not show a relation with either the milk or the uterine microbiota, whereas Moraxellaceae, the most abundant family in the airborne dust and water microbiota, was detected at low proportions in the milk microbiota. The farm-to-farm difference was more apparent for the milk microbiota than for the fecal and uterine microbiota. It is noteworthy that Dermacoccaceae, Bacillaceae, and Methylobacteriaceae were the prevalent families in the microbiota of several milk and uterine samples; however, these findings did not help understand the role of the microbiota in fertility and subsequent conception. Despite the small number of dairy cows examined in this study, this report is the first to characterize the fecal, milk, uterine, airborne dust, and water microbiota in dairy farms in southern Vietnam.