Development of a microarray platform for detection of milk pathogens: preliminary results

The identification of bacterial milk pathogens responsible for mastitis is of importance not only for the associated economic losses to producers, but also for the hazard these could represent for consumers. Pathogen identification has traditionally been based on microbiological techniques, but the development of PCR-based methods has provided a promising option for the rapid identification of bacteria, also in the difficult case of subclinical mastitis. In recent years, DNA microarray technology has played an increasingly important role in the study of infectious diseases. A microarray platform was developed in this study and used to identify pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus spp. (Coagulase Negative Staphylococci), Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus, Streptococcus canis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus parauberis, Streptococcus uberis, Mycoplasma spp., Salmonella spp., Bacillus spp., Campylobacter spp.