title: Fine-structure molecular epidemiological analysis of Staphylococcus aureus recovered from cows.
abstract: Sixty-three Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from bovine sources in the USA and the Republic of Ireland were characterized by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE), ribotyping, and random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) typing at two separate laboratories. The S. aureus isolates were assigned by MLEE to 10 electrophoretic types (ETs) (Index of Discrimination, D = 0.779). In contrast, the same isolates were assigned to 13 ribotypes (D = 0.888), and to 12 RAPD types (D = 0.898). A common clone, ET3, of worldwide distribution, was represented by six distinct combinations of ribotypes and RAPD types. S. aureus clones recovered from cows in Ireland were also associated with mastitis in dairy cows in the USA. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that only a few specialized clones of S. aureus are responsible for the majority of cases of bovine mastitis, and that these clones have a broad geographic distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Meaney
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hartigan
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kapur
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004592:Electrophoresis, Starch Gel; D005260:Female; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008414:Mastitis, Bovine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial