Deep sequencing metagenomic analysis of experimentally induced bovine digital dermatitis lesions

Abstract

Bovine digital dermatitis (DD) is a leading cause of lameness in both dairy and beef cattle in the US and much of the world. Previous work by our laboratory and others has demonstrated that metagenomic analysis of naturally occurring digital dermatitis biopsies yields evidence of a complex polymicrobial disease process. We have demonstrated that lesions develop through a systematic progression of morphologic changes that are each associated with significantly different microbial communities. While these studies have provided insights into the pathogenesis of the disease process, they are often complicated by confounding associated with temporal differences in the time or season of biopsy collection, chronicity of the lesion, and the lack of baseline metagenomic data for each foot prior to lesion development. The goal of this study was to utilize a recently developed and highly reliable experimental lesion induction model of digital dermatitis to collect a large number of metagenomic samples with minimal confounding.