Improvement of the identification of staphylococci isolated from bovine mammary infections using molecular methods

Fifty-six Staphylococcus strains isolated from cases of bovine mammary infe ctions were identified by using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Twenty-ei ght strains (50%) were identified at the species level according to their p henotypic characteristics, whereas the remaining 28 strains presented atypi cal or unreliable profiles. A combination of phenotypic and genotypic metho ds allowed the 56 strains studied to be classified, Internal transcribed sp acer-polymerase chain reaction (ITS-PCR) based on the polymorphism of the 1 6S-23S rDNA spacer region appeared as a rapid and reliable method for the c lassification of bovine staphylococcal isolates at the species and subspeci es levels. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.