Molecular subtyping of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in Pernambuco State, Brazil

The present study describes genotypic variations of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine mastitis in Pernambuco State, Brazil. Twenty-four isolates of S. aureus from individual animals from 14 different herds were including on study. The isolates were analyzed by three different molecular typing methods: PCR amplification of the X region of the spa gene, the 3′ end of the coa gene, and the spacer region between the 16S and 23S rRNA. All isolates could be differentiated from each other with PCR products ranging the X region of the spa gene of 290 to 380 bp, the sizes of the coa gene PCR products of 700 to 1,200 bp, and PCR amplification of the 16S-23S rRNA variable region of 700 to 1,000 bp. The S. aureus isolates can be classified into five distinct clusters; the cluster IV has the higher number of isolates (54.17 %) and has representation of different herds. PCR amplification of the X region of the spa gene, the 3′ end of the coa gene, and the spacer region between 16S and 23S rRNA was technically simple with high reproducibility. © 2013 Springer-Verlag London.