Metagenomic Sequencing of the Uterine Microbial Environment During Estrus and Early Pregnancy in Mares

Bacterial endometritis is the leading cause of infertility and is a condition of great concern to breeders and veterinarians. The traditional approach to diagnosis and treatment of endometritis is via bacterial culture of the uterus. With the recent developments in metagenomic approaches to study microbial populations, it had been demonstrated that in other species many ‘sterile’ anatomic sites harbor complex microbial populations of bacterial organisms that cannot be grown in the laboratory. We hypothesized that the healthy equine uterus is not a sterile environment but instead is colonized by a population of complex bacterial microflora. [...]