Antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from dairy cows at the stage of subclinical mastitis in northern Kazakhstan

Raushan Rychshanova; Anara Mendybayeva; Bartosz Miciński; Nurlan Mamiyev; Pavel Shevchenko; Zhanaidar Bermukhametov; Bartosz Orzechowski; Jan Miciński

doi:10.5194/aab-65-439-2022

Antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from dairy cows at the stage of subclinical mastitis in northern Kazakhstan

Arch Anim Breed. 2022 Dec 8;65(4):439-448. doi: 10.5194/aab-65-439-2022. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Raushan Rychshanova¹, Anara Mendybayeva¹, Bartosz Miciński², Nurlan Mamiyev¹, Pavel Shevchenko¹, Zhanaidar Bermukhametov¹, Bartosz Orzechowski³, Jan Miciński³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Applied Biotechnology, Baitursynov University, Kostanay, Kazakhstan.
² Department of Clinical Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5/150, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.
³ Department of Sheep and Goat Breeding, Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5/150, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is an important causative agent of subclinical bovine mastitis worldwide. The aim of this research was to study the ability of S. aureus to form biofilms. Additionally, we examined the genes involved in cell resistance and sensitivity to antibiotics. Samples were collected from December 2020 to May 2021 from Simmental and black-and-white cows. The study was carried out on a total number of 643 cows, of which 278 (23 %) were in the subclinical mastitis stage. Finally, 64 S. aureus isolates were isolated and identified. The highest level of phenotypic resistance was observed to antibiotics of the tetracycline (tetracycline - 48.4 %, doxycycline - 32.8 %) and $β$ -lactam (ampicillin - 45.3 %, penicillin - 45.3 %) groups. The genes encoding antibiotic resistance were characterized with the polymerase chain reaction method: blaZ in 30 isolates, mecA in 1 isolate, ermC in 15 isolates, aph (3) in 2 isolates, tetK in 19 isolates, tetM in 9 isolates. The tested S. aureus isolates had the ability to form biofilms in 76.6 % ( $49 / 64$ ) of cases. Of these, 69.4 % were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The obtained results have shown that S. aureus, identified in cows with subclinical mastitis, was resistant mainly to tetracycline and $β$ -lactam antibiotics. In addition, S. aureus isolates expressed resistance genes to the above drugs and had the ability to form biofilm. This study will help to identify the extent of antibiotic resistance and monitor S. aureus contamination of raw milk.