ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1542971
Analysis of Microbial Aerosols Diversity in Cattle Farms in Ningxia
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Animal Science, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, Henan Province, China
- 2Guyuan Branch of Ning Xia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Guyuan,Ningxia, China
- 3Zhumadian Animal Disease Prevention and Quarantine Center, Zhumadian, Henan, China
- 4Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, Ministry of Education of China, Institutes of Agricultural Science and Technology Development, Yangzhou University,, Yangzhou, China
- 5School of Basic Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
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Beef cattle farming, a key industry in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has intensified, raising public health concerns due to bioaerosol emissions. However, the distribution characteristics of these bioaerosols remain poorly understood. We characterized bacterial communities in bioaerosols from beef cattle pens across five Ningxia regions—Guyuan (G), Yinchuan (Y), Shizuishan (S), Zhongwei (Z), and Wuzhong (W)—and compared two rearing scales: smallholder farms (S) and large-scale farms (L). Using filter membrane sampling and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we found that regional differences significantly influenced bacterial abundance (P < 0.05), whereas rearing scales had minimal impact. We identified 45,486 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), of which 423 were shared across all samples, constituting a core microbiome that accounted for 46% of total sequences. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed greater microbial interaction complexity in regionally distinct samples. Our results elucidate the distribution of bioaerosol-borne microbial communities in cattle farms, highlighting potential transmission pathways of airborne microorganisms and informing strategies to mitigate exposure risks for livestock and workers.
Keywords: bioaerosols, bacterial diversity, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Cattle barns, Core microbiome
Received: 10 Dec 2024; Accepted: 17 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo, Mao, Zhao, Yang, Yu, Chen, Yang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yanan Guo, Institute of Animal Science, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, Henan Province, China
Yanni Mao, Guyuan Branch of Ning Xia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Guyuan,Ningxia, China
Mengmeng Yang, School of Basic Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
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