Bacterial infections are the cause of many reproductive disorders of economic importance, such as mastitis, in livestock. Unfortunately, very little is known about the microbiota and the changes occurring during an infection state in small ruminants. The sequencing of regions of the 16S rRNA gene, is the useful tool to describe the whole dairy microbiome. Using this technique, studies have identified various phyla such as Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria and Cyanobacteria; and also several genera from raw milk of small ruminants. Nevertheless, there does not seem to be a consensus on the predominant genera nor phyla, even within the same breed. There is a lack of information about the mammary microflora in meat-oriented breeds, and about the microflora of colostrum and mastitis milk. Further studies comparing the microbiota between artificial and natural lactations and between healthy and mastitis milk are necessary.

Considering the concerns arising from the use overuse of antibiotic therapy in Veterinary Medicine, it would be interesting to develop alternative strategies for the control of mastitis. Probiotics, such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB), have proven to be an interesting antibiotic-free strategy. Therefore, their presence in the dairy microflora of small ruminants and their interactions with other bacteria, such as mastitis-causing pathogens, should be scrutinized, given that the efficacy of probiotics increase when the bacterial strains used are specific to their host.

细菌感染是导致牲畜中许多具有重要经济意义的生殖疾病的原因，例如乳腺炎。不幸的是，人们对小反刍动物感染状态期间的微生物群和发生的变化知之甚少。16S rRNA 基因区域的测序是描述整个乳品微生物组的有用工具。使用这种技术，研究已经确定了各种门，如厚壁菌门、放线菌门、变形菌门、拟杆菌门、梭杆菌门和蓝藻门；以及来自小反刍动物生奶的几个属。然而，即使在同一品种内，似乎也没有就主要属或门达成共识。缺乏关于以肉类为主的品种的乳腺微生物群以及初乳和乳腺炎乳的微生物群的信息。

考虑到在兽医中过度使用抗生素治疗引起的担忧，开发控制乳腺炎的替代策略将是有趣的。益生菌，例如乳酸菌 (LAB)，已被证明是一种有趣的无抗生素策略。因此，考虑到当所使用的细菌菌株对宿主具有特异性时，益生菌的功效会增加，因此应仔细检查它们在小型反刍动物的乳品微生物群中的存在及其与其他细菌（如引起乳腺炎的病原体）的相互作用。