Molecular determination of methicillin resistance mecA and virulence coa genes in Staphylococcus aureus from pyogenic clinical cases of companion animals in India

Abstract

Out of 100 pyogenic clinical cases of companion animals, 40 samples revealed Staphylococcus aureus confirmed by genomic amplification of 280-bp amplicons of the nuc gene. The presence of resistance and virulence determinants was confirmed for the genomic and plasmid mec, van, and coa genes. Out of 40 isolates of S. aureus, 23 isolates revealed amplification of 533-bp mecA genes on genomic DNA. These included 4, 14, and 5 isolates of cattle, buffalo, and dogs, respectively. On amplification for the coa gene, 19 isolates revealed amplicons of variable size and number on genomic DNA. The numbers of coa-positive isolates were 4, 12, and 3 of cattle, buffalo, and dogs, respectively. Among coa-positive isolates, thirteen were mecA-positive isolates while the other six isolates were mecA-negative.