2026-10-07T10:01:09Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34032072 2026-09-30T11:57:32Z category_1325 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Supplementary file 1_Variation in the early-life interdigital skin microbiota of lambs in a commercial sheep flock.docx Katharine Lewis (3410144) Marisa Draycott (25143717) Laura Green (614006) Rachel Clifton (260022) Veterinary Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care early life footrot interdigital skin lamb microbiome Introduction<p>The factors shaping early-life microbial colonisation of the ovine interdigital skin, and their potential relevance to foot health and footrot susceptibility, remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated variation in the interdigital skin microbiota among lambs in different age-location groups.</p>Methods<p>Interdigital skin swabs were collected from all four feet of 25 lambs aged 0–15 days on a commercial farm. Bacterial community composition was characterised using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and quantitative PCR was used to estimate total bacterial load and detect Dichelobacter nodosus.</p>Results<p>Community composition differed markedly among lamb age-location groups. Microbial communities were more tightly clustered in newborn lambs than in older lambs and total bacterial load was higher in lambs ≥ 1 day old. A consistent early-life core microbiome, dominated by Staphylococcaceae and Corynebacteriaceae, was detected across all groups, although dominant amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) differed among age-location groups. D. nodosus was not detected in any lambs; however, ASVs assigned to the genus Porphyromonas were detected in the interdigital skin microbiota at birth.</p>Discussion<p>These findings demonstrate substantial variation in the early-life interdigital skin microbiota among lamb age-location groups, providing a baseline for future studies investigating microbial community development and ovine footrot.</p> 2026-09-30T11:57:32Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fvets.2026.1923848.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_file_1_Variation_in_the_early-life_interdigital_skin_microbiota_of_lambs_in_a_commercial_sheep_flock_docx/34032072 CC BY 4.0