Table 1.
Universal primers used in the PCR reaction for Bacteria, Archaea and fungi.
Fig 1.
Average alpha diversity in the analyzed groups, expressed as antilog of Shannon’s index.
NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 2.
Domains abundance in each group.
NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 3.
Bacterial phyla found in the vaginal tract.
Relative abundance comparisons within each group are shown in graphics a to d, and phyla comparison between groups are shown in graphic e. NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 4.
Major bacterial OTUs at the genus-level in each group.
Average relative abundance is presented for the ten most abundant bacterial OTUs in the vaginal tract. (a-d) Comparison within each group. (e) Comparison between groups. NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 5.
Bacterial phylogenetic tree, including all bacterial families encountered in the samples.
The seven major families, comprising nine of the ten most abundant OTUs at the genus level are indicated by the red dots. Red circles indicate three important orders, namely Clostridiales (a), Bacillales (b) and Bacteroidales (c).
Fig 6.
Relative abundance of the 10 major OTUs found at the genus-level in vaginal microbiota types “A” (a), “B” (b) and “C” (c).
The blue bars refer to aerobes and facultative anaerobes, red bars to obligate anaerobes and white bars to unspecified bacterial metabolisms. Results are shown as the mean and standard deviation of each group, and different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 7.
Major archaeal OTUs at the genus-level in each group.
Average relative abundance is presented. (a-d) Comparison within each group. (e) Comparison between groups. NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 8.
Major eukaryotic phyla found in the vaginal tract.
Relative abundance comparisons within each group are shown in graphics a to d, and phyla comparison between groups are shown in graphic e. NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).
Fig 9.
Major eukaryotic OTUs at the genus-level in each group.
Average relative abundance is presented. (a-d) Comparison within each group. (e) Comparison between groups. NPH—Non-pregnant Heifers, PH—Pregnant Heifers, NPC—Non-pregnant Cows, PC—Pregnant Cows. Different symbols represent statistical difference (p < 0.05).