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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Evaluation of Microbial Safety of Dairies using Bacterial Proteomic Profiling via MALDI Approach
Published on: October 7, 2025
Molecular characterization of Prototheca strains isolated from Italian dairy herds
M Ricchi1, M Goretti, E Branda
1Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Lombardia and Emilia Romagna, I-29027 Piacenza, Italy.
Abstract:
One hundred sixty-one Prototheca spp. strains isolated from composite milk and barn-surrounding environmental samples (bedding, feces, drinking, or washing water, surface swabs) of 24 Italian dairy herds were characterized by genotype-specific PCR analysis. Overall, 97.2% of strains isolated from composite milk samples were characterized as Prototheca zopfii genotype 2, confirming its role as the main mastitis pathogen, whereas Prototheca blaschkeae was only sporadically isolated (2.8%). Regarding environmental sampling, 84.9% of isolates belonged to P. zopfii genotype 2, 13.2% to P. blaschkeae, and 1.9% to P. zopfii genotype 1. The data herein contradict previous hypotheses about the supposed exclusive role of P. zopfii genotype 2 as the causative agent of protothecal mastitis and, on the contrary, confirm the hypothesis that such pathology could be caused by P. blaschkeae in a few instances.
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