EXOPROTEIN AND SLIME PRODUCTION BY COAGULASE-NEGATIVE STAPHYLOCOCCI ISOLATED FROM GOATS MILK

Milk from mastitis-free goats from French herds was examined for the p resence of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), and 165 positive is olates were evaluated for their capacity to produce exoproteins. Most isolates were identified as Staphylococcus caprae (N=91) or S. xylosus (N= 36), but members of at least nine other species were present. Ove rall, some 57% of isolates produced toxins with phenotypic properties of alpha-hemolysin, and 75% produced toxins resembling S. aureus b- an d/or partial derivative-hemolysins. Thermostable desoxyribonuclease (T NAse) was secreted by 29% of isolates and thermolabile DNAse by 66%. S lime was produced by 42% of our cultures, and, although none of them s howed activity to insoluble elastase, over 70% lysed the soluble subst rate. No clinical consequences were observed to correlate with exoprot ein production, which proved to be inconstant within individual CNS sp ecies. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.