A Rapid and Inexpensive PCR Test for Mastitis Diagnosis Based on NGS Data

Mastitis is a common mammary gland disease of dairy cattle caused by a wide range of organisms including bacteria, fungi and algae. Mastitis contributes to economic losses of dairy farms due to reduced yield and poor quality of milk. Since the correct identification of pathogens responsible for the development of mastitis is crucial to the success of treatment, it is necessary to develop a quick and accurate test to distinguish the main pathogens causing this disease. In this paper, we describe the development of a test based on the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method allowing for the identification of Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus uberis and Staphylococcus aureus. When creating our test, we relied on the results from new generation sequencing (NGS) for accurate determination of species affiliation. The multiplex PCR test was verified on 100 strains including veterinary samples, ATCC and Polish Collection of Microorganisms (PCM) reference strains. The obtained results indicate that this test is accurate and displays high specificity. It may serve as a valuable molecular tool for the detection of major mastitis pathogens.