Describing biosynthetic gene clusters of dairy cattle uterine microbiomes associated with antimetritis properties

Uterine disease perturbs fertility thereby causing economic losses to the dairy enterprise worldwide. About 25-40% of dairy cattle develop metritis postpartum (Sheldon et al., 2009). 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing taxonomic identification of the en­dometrial microbiome signatures differentiate cattle harbor­ing uterine disease (Becker et al., 2023), particularly at 7 and 10 days postpartum (DPP), before clinical signs of metritis are evi­dent (Tasara et al., 2023). It is hypothesized that predominating bacterial strains inhabiting the healthy bovine uterus postpar­tum elucidate antimicrobial molecules that hinder pathogens causing endometritis. This study aims to describe predictive biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) present in the healthy bovine endometrial microbiome that may be protective against metritis.