Prevalence and characterization of leukotoxin-producing Staphylococcus intermedius in Isolates from dogs and pigeons

Abstract

Staphylococcus intermedius isolates from dogs (n = 44) and pigeons (n = 62) were categorized into 12 types by intergenic ribosomal DNA spacer polymorphism analysis. All isolates from pigeons were lukS positive and all isolates from dogs were lukS and lukF positive by dot blot analysis. The mean leukotoxicity titer for dog isolates was at least 129-fold higher than that for pigeon isolates.

FIG. 1.

Dot blot analysis of genomic DNA from S. intermedius isolates with lukS and lukF probes. Spots a1 and a2, ITS-PCR type A; a3 and a4, ITS-PCR type B; a5 and a6, ITS-PCR type C; b1 and b2, ITS-PCR type D; b3 and b4, ITS-PCR type E; b5, ITS-PCR type F; b6, ITS-PCR type G; c1 and c2, ITS-PCR type H; c3 and c4, ITS-PCR type I; c5, ITS-PCR type J; c6 and d1, ITS-PCR type K; d2 to d5, ITS-PCR type L; and d6, negative control (Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium). All S. intermedius strains were included in dot blot hybridization analysis, but only two representative, randomly selected strains for each ITS-PCR type, with the exception of four strains for ITS-PCR type L and one strain each for ITS-PCR types F and G, are shown.