Restriction endonuclease fingerprinting of genomic DNA of Staphylococcus species of bovine origin

Fifty-one staphylococcal isolates from mammary secretions of cows with subclinical mastitis were examined by antibiograms and DNA restriction endonuclease fingerprinting (REF). DNA REF differentiated closely related strains of each species isolated from mammary secretions of different mammary glands of the same cow and from the same mammary gland at different periods of the lactation cycle. In addition, REF analysis provided evidence concerning persistence of infection in the same or different mammary gland over different periods of the lactation cycle, and occurrence of infection with similar and dissimilar strains of each Staphylococcus species. Antibiograms were of limited value in differentiating closely related strains. The ease by which REF analysis can be performed together with the reproducibility and clarity of REF patterns suggest that this technique is useful for differentiating closely related and unrelated strains of Staphylococcus species isolated from bovine mammary secretions.