title: Adhesive behaviour and virulence of coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from Italian cheeses.
abstract: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) belong to saprophytic microbiota on the skin and mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals and humans, but are also isolated from foodstuffs such as meat, cheese, and milk. In other circumstances, some CoNS can act as pathogens. Thus the presence of CoNS may not be an immediate danger to public health, but can become a risk factor. In particular antibiotic-resistant genes could be transferred to other potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Furthermore, CoNS are known to be strong biofilm producers and this is also a risk factor for public health. The aim of the present work was to determine the genotypic and phenotypic profiles of 106 CoNS belonging to four different species isolated from five different Italian cheeses for the presence of some adhesion and virulence features. In order to verify a possible correlation between the formation of biofilm and staphylococcal virulence factors, we checked the presence of adhesin genes by PCR and we investigated the ability of these strains to make biofilm at different temperatures. Furthermore, in some conditions, we analyzed surface proteins and autolytic pattern of selected strains. In conclusion, we checked the presence of norA and mecA genes responsible for fluoroquinolones and methicillin resistance, respectively. We found resistant genes in a proportion of the food isolates in amounts of 9.4% (mecA) and 5.7% (norA). These data support the importance to continuously examine the microbiota not only for the creation of a database but also to safeguard public health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Infectious Diseases, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Artini
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Infectious Diseases, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cellini
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Infectious Diseases, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy.
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Infectious Diseases, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tilotta
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Infectious Diseases, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy.
authors.forename: Gian Luca
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Scoarughi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Microbiologia-CRB, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gazzola
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Microbiologia-CRB, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiological and Gynecological Sciences, University of Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tempera
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Microbiologia-CRB, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Pier Sandro
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Cocconcelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health & Infectious Diseases, University of Rome "Sapienza", Italy laura.selan@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selan
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D003030:Coagulase / Q000378:metabolism*; D005838:Genotype; D007558:Italy; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D014774:Virulence / Q000502:physiology*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003030:Coagulase; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: adhesion; antibiotic resistance; biofilm formation cheese surface; coagulase negative staphylococci