Abstract
The oral microbiota has been shown to be different in children born by caesarean section and delivered vaginally. The aim of this study was to investigate the oral microbial diversity in healthy puppies and to determine whether the birth mode affects the composition of the oral microbiota. A total of 19 puppies from 4 dams were included in the study. The puppies were divided into two groups depending on the birth mode, vaginal delivery (vaginal born VB) or caesarean delivery (caesar-ean section CS). On the seventh day after birth, swabs of the oral cavity were taken. All samples were analysed by bacteriological cultivation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Bacterial colonies were identified by Sanger sequencing of 16S rRNA. A total of 64 bacterial strains belonging to 10 genera were obtained from the oral swabs. The genera Staphylococcus (30.23 % VB and 47.62 % CS) and Enterococcus (25.58 % VB and 33.33 % CS) were the most abundant in both groups. The genera Escherichia (18.60 %) and Enterobacter (16.28 %) were largely present in puppies delivered vaginally, they were not found in puppies born by caesarean section. The other detected genera were present at lower proportions (< 5 %) and varied between the groups. The oral micro-biota of the puppies in the litter was similar, but differed between litters and between groups. Based on these results, we can assume that the birth mode affects the oral microbiota of puppies.