Molecular detection of antibiotic resistance genes in multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from dog dental plaque

Abstract

Multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains are a major health care problem both in humans and animals. In this work we described three multiplex PCR assays for detection of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes in S. aureus isolated from dog dental plaques. Thirty dental plaque samples were collected; then cultural, biochemical and molecular tests performed for isolation and identification of S. aureus from samples. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates were checked by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method and the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes determined using multiplex PCR assay. As a result S. aureus was isolated from 18 dog plaque samples. Fifteen of these isolates were resistant to penicillin. The mecA gene was more prevalent than blaZ among penicillin-resistant bacteria. Ten of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline. The percentage of tetM was higher than tetK among them. Also, 10 of the isolates were resistant to cefazolin among them bla TEM detected in higher rate than blaSHV and blaOXA-1. Hence multiplex PCR assay is a suitable method for detection of antibiotic resistance patterns of S. aureus isolates.