Uterine bacterial sterility in non-pregnant domestic cats - a pilot study

Esterilidade bacteriana uterina em gatas domésticas não gestantes - um estudo piloto

ABSTRACT

In various physiological and pathological conditions, the uterine bacteriome in mammals generates debates regarding the presence of a permanent microbiome. In this sense, microbiome studies have been conducted in the upper reproductive tract in some species using modern molecular biology techniques. However, this knowledge is still lacking for cats. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the presence of a uterine bacteriome in healthy nonpregnant cats by investigating the 16S rRNA gene. Uterine fragments were collected from five healthy cats after total hysterectomy with salpingo-oophorectomy (HSO). After DNA extraction, the samples were subjected to conventional PCR amplification of the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Our analysis revealed no detectable amplification in the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene in any of the samples. These findings support the hypothesis that the feline endometrium may be sterile or harbor an ultra-low microbial biomass. Further studies with larger, more representative sample sizes are essential to validate these findings and to gain a deeper understanding of the uterine microbiome under different physiological conditions.

Keywords:
16S rRNA; Feline; Uterine environment; Bacteriome.