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Identification and prevalence of an enterotoxin‐related gene, se‐int , in Staphylococcus intermedius isolates from dogs and pigeons
Author(s) -
FutagawaSaito K.,
Suzuki M.,
Ohsawa M.,
Ohshima S.,
Sakurai N.,
BaThein W.,
Fukuyasu T.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2004.02264.x
Subject(s) - enterotoxin , staphylococcus intermedius , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , int , identification (biology) , staphylococcus aureus , gene , veterinary medicine , staphylococcus , medicine , genetics , bacteria , escherichia coli , ecology , computer science , operating system
Aims: To determine the prevalence of enterotoxin‐producing Staphylococcus intermedius in dogs and pigeons. Methods and Results: A total of 106 S. intermedius isolates from 44 dogs and 62 pigeons were tested for the production of enterotoxins A, B, C and D by reverse passive latex agglutination (RPLA) and for sec‐canine by PCR. Only one isolate from dog was positive for SEC and sec‐canine. Screening of sec‐canine ‐negative strains by nested PCR led to the identification of a novel enterotoxin‐related gene, se‐int . SE‐int showed a significant homology (59–61% identity) with SEC and (56·6% identity) SEB. All 44 isolates from dogs and five isolates (8·1%) from pigeons were se‐int positive. Conclusions: While S. intermedius was isolated more frequently from pigeons than from dogs, se‐int was more prevalent among the S. intermedius isolates from dogs, compared with the pigeon isolates. Significance and Impact of the Study: Further characterization of the se‐int ‐positive S. intermedius strains should clarify their pathogenic potential including enterotoxigenicity and zoonotic transmissibility to human beings.