Occurrence, molecular characterization and antimicrobial-resistance pattern of Staphylococcus species isolates from buck semen

• Published in: Archives of microbiology 2022-02, Vol.204 (2), p.135-135, Article 135
• Main Authors: Kumaresan, Gururaj, Gangwar, Chetna, Mishra, Anil Kumar, Kumar, Ashok, Kharche, Suresh Dinkar, Singh, Narendra Pratap, Pachoori, Anjali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial resistance; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Catalase; Catalase test; Cell Biology; Coagulase; Cryopreservation; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial - genetics; Ecology; Fertility; Handlers; Humans; Life Sciences; Livestock; Mannitol; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Multidrug resistance; Original Paper; Reproductive health; Reproductive system; Semen; Staphylococcal Infections - veterinary; Staphylococcus; Staphylococcus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus; Virulence
• ISSN: 0302-8933; 1432-072X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00203-021-02731-7

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most prevalent pathogens, and a causative agent of a variety of infections in humans and animals. Most studies concentrated on characterization of staphylococcus isolates and its antimicrobial resistance from various illness of veterinary importance, but there is no specific study that is available on isolates from reproductive tract of small ruminants and especially its semen. Hence, in the current study, a total of 48 semen samples were collected from healthy bucks of different breeds to investigate the occurrence of S. aureus . Antimicrobial resistance and virulence of the Staphylococcus isolates were determined to assess the adverse effects of them on buck fertility. The bacterial isolates were tentatively confirmed as Staphylococcus spp. based on the Gram’s staining, growth on Mannitol salt agar and catalase test. Overall, 75% ( n  = 36) of the samples were positive for Staphylococcus spp. from the total 48 buck semen ejaculates from different breeds and among them 23 (63.89%) were coagulase-negative (CoNS) and 13 (36.11%) were coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (CoPS) strains. The species identified by molecular characterization are S. aureus , S. chromogenes , S. haemolyticus , S. sciuri , S. simulans , and S. epidermidis from buck semen. Further, these isolates exhibited varying degrees of multidrug resistance genotypically as well as phenotypically. The presence of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes may pose a potential threat to reproductive health of animals, the animal handlers and livestock keepers, while simultaneously highlighting the need for vigilant monitoring of these isolates at the time of semen cryopreservation.