Abstract
Development of gastrointestinal microflora of calves with special reference to bifidobacteria was investigated; fecal bacteria were enumerated in calves aged 3 days to 7 weeks. Bacteria were detected by using selective media, bifidobacteria using modified TPY agar with an addition of mupirocin and acetic acid and by fluorescencein situ hybridization (FISH). Bifidobacteria were dominant group of fecal flora of calves after 7 d of life, constituting 10 % of total bacterial counts. The highest bacterial concentrations were observed in rumen, cecum, and colon, the lowest in abomasum and duodenum. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli exhibited the highest survival ability during stomach passage and dominated in all parts of the digestive tract. Bifidobacteria counts determined by FISH were significantly higher than those provided by cultivation. Modified TPY agar was highly selective and suitable for bifidobacteria isolation but FISH was shown to be a more precise method for their enumeration. Our results show that gastrointestinal microflora of calves in the milk-feeding period is similar to breast-fed infants with respect to the occurrence of bifidobacteria as a dominant bacterial group. The use ofBifidobacterium strains offers a promising way for providing beneficial effectors for calves in the milk-feeding period.
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This study was supported by grants 523/05/P117 and 523/03/H076 of theGrant Agency of the Czech Republic and MSM 604 607 0901 of theGrant Agency of Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic.
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Vlková, E., Trojanová, I. & Rada, V. Distribution of bifidobacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of calves. Folia Microbiol 51, 325–328 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931825
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931825