Assessment of mastitis in camel using high-throughput sequencing

Area of Science:

• * Microbiology and Animal Health: Focuses on the microbial ecology of camel milk, specifically investigating the causes and impacts of mastitis in dairy camels.

Background:

• * Camel milk is a valuable functional food, but mastitis poses a significant economic and animal welfare challenge in the dairy industry.
• * Mastitis, an inflammation of the udder, can be caused by various pathogens and negatively affects milk production and camel health.
• * Limited research exists on the specific etiological factors contributing to mastitis in camels.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To characterize the bacterial and fungal communities associated with clinical camel mastitis.
• * To identify microbial differences between healthy and mastitic camel milk samples.
• * To provide insights into the microbiome dysbiosis occurring during camel mastitis.

Main Methods:

• * Utilized Illumina amplicon sequencing to analyze the bacterial and fungal communities.
• * Examined 25 camel milk samples: 9 clinical mastitis cases and 16 healthy controls.
• * Applied discriminant analysis to identify differentially abundant microbial genera.

Main Results:

• * Mastitic camel milk showed reduced bacterial diversity and abundance but increased fungal diversity and abundance compared to healthy milk.
• * Specific bacterial genera like *Staphylococcus*, *Streptococcus*, and *Klebsiella* were enriched in mastitic milk, while others like *Corynebacterium* and *Lactobacillus* were reduced.
• * Fungal genera such as *Candida*, *Aspergillus*, and *Cladosporium* increased in mastitic samples, with *Penicillium* and *Alternaria* decreasing.

Conclusions:

• * Clinical camel mastitis is characterized by microbiome dysbiosis, with opportunistic pathogens increasing and beneficial commensal bacteria decreasing.
• * These findings are crucial for developing effective control and treatment strategies for camel mastitis.
• * Understanding the microbial shifts can aid in improving camel herd management and dairy industry sustainability.