Occurrence of genes coding for MSCRAMM and biofilm-associated protein Bap in Staphylococcus spp. isolated from bovine subclinical mastitis and relationship with somatic cell counts

• Genes encoding MSCRAMM and protein Bap were detected in Staphylococcus spp.
• The most frequent genes encoding MSCRAMM were eno, fnbA and fib.
• The bap gene had a higher frequency of occurrence in CNS compared with CPS.
• SCCs related to Staphylococcus showing eno, fnbA, fib and bap were higher compared with isolates without the assessed genes.
• Eno/fnbA/fib/bap was related to a higher SCC when compared with other combinations of genes.

This study aimed to elucidate aspects of the epidemiology of bovine subclinical mastitis through the assessment of genes encoding MSCRAMM (microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules – a group of adhesins) and protein Bap (implicated in biofilm formation), in coagulase-positive (CPS) and coagulase-negative (CNS) Staphylococcus isolated from subclinical mastitis. Milk samples were collected for microbiological exams, somatic cell count (SCC) and a survey of the genes coding for MSCRAMM (cna, eno, ebpS, fnbA, fnbB and fib) and biofilm-associated protein Bap (bap) in 106 Staphylococcus spp. isolates using PCR. The frequencies of occurrence of eno (82.1%), fnbA (72.6%), fib (71.7%) and bap (56.6%) were higher (P < 0.0001) compared with the other assessed genes (cna, ebpS and fnbB). The higher frequency of occurrence (P < 0.005) of the bap gene in CNS compared with CPS suggests that in these species biofilm formation is an important mechanism for the persistence of the infection. The medians of the SCCs in the samples where eno, fnbA, fib and bap genes were detected were higher compared with Staphylococcus without the assessed genes (P < 0.05) and negative samples (P < 0.01), which indicated that the presence of these MSCRAMM may be related to a higher intensity of the inflammatory process.