The bovine milk microbiota: insights and perspectives from -omics studies

Recent significant progress in culture-independent techniques, together with the parallel development of -omics technologies and data analysis capabilities, have led to a new perception of the milk microbiota as a complex microbial community with great diversity and multifaceted biological roles, living in an environment that was until recently believed to be sterile. In this review, we summarize and discuss the latest findings on the milk microbiota in dairy cows, with a focus on the role it plays in bovine physiology and health. Following an introduction on microbial communities and the importance of their study, we present an overview of the -omics methods currently available for their characterization, and outline the potential offered by a systems biology approach encompassing metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metametabolomics. Then, we review the recent discoveries on the dairy cow milk microbiome enabled by the application of -omics approaches. Learning from studies in humans and in the mouse model, and after a description of the endogenous route hypothesis, we discuss the role of the milk microbiota in the physiology and health of both the mother and the offspring, and report how it can be changed by farming practices and during infection. In conclusion, we shortly outline the impact of the milk microbiota on the quality of milk and of dairy products.