Fecal and vaginal microbiomes of North American Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni)

The North American elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) is a natural reservoir of Brucella abortus, the causative agent of bovine brucellosis. This disease results in abortion and costly reproductive issues, and transmission of B. abortus from wild elk to domestic cattle presents a serious threat to herds in the American Northwest. Vaccination of elk against B. abortus may therefore help mitigate cattle brucellosis outbreaks in this region. The microbiome is implicated in immunity to diseases and in vaccine efficacy, and thus we investigated the fecal and vaginal microbiota of unvaccinated and RB51-vaccinated pregnant elk challenged with B. abortus.