Bovine Milk Microbiota: Comparison among Three Different DNA Extraction Protocols To Identify a Better Approach for Bacterial Analysis

The bovine udder is colonized by a huge quantity of microorganisms that constitute the intramammary ecosystem, with a specific role in modulating not only udder homeostasis and mastitis susceptibility, but also the quality of the dairy products. However, generating high-quality bacterial DNA can be critical, especially starting from a complex biological matrix like milk, characterized by high fat, protein, and calcium contents. Here, bacterial DNA was recovered from a commercial ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk sample artificially spiked with a predetermined mock community composition and from three bulk tank milk (raw milk) samples. The DNA was isolated using three different protocols to evaluate the effect of the extraction procedures on the milk microbiota composition. In the mock community experiment, the bacterial profiles generated by the three DNA extraction protocols were profoundly different, with the genera Staphylococcus, Lactobacillus, Listeria, and Salmonella underestimated by all the protocols. Only one protocol revealed values close to the expected abundances for Escherichia/Shigella spp., Bacillus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Pseudomonas spp. On the other hand, the nonspiked UHT milk sample exhibited a similar microbiota composition, revealing the prevalence of Acinetobacter spp., for all the DNA extraction protocols. For the raw milk samples, the three DNA extraction kits performed differently, revealing significant separations in both the microbial richness (alpha diversity) and composition (beta diversity). Our study highlights the presence of significant differences among these procedures, probably due to the different DNA extracting capacities and to the different properties of the milk samples, revealing that the selection of DNA extraction protocol is a critical point. IMPORTANCE The advance of high-throughput technologies has increased our knowledge of the world of microorganisms, especially of microbial populations inhabiting living animals. This study provides evidence that milk, as other complex sources, could be critical for generating high-quality DNA for microbiota analysis. In addition, it demonstrates that the microbial population highlighted by metagenomic studies changes in relation to different DNA extraction procedures, revealing that attention should be paid especially when comparing different studies.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated that different DNA extraction protocols can significantly impact the microbial population composition in milk samples, highlighting the importance of choosing the appropriate extraction method. The findings suggest that milk, as a complex source, plays a critical role in generating high-quality DNA for microbiota analysis and that attention should be paid when comparing studies using different extraction procedures.