Ribotyping of Staphylococcus caprae isolated from goat milk

The usefulness of the API-STAPH system and a method based on ribosomal fingerprinting was evaluated by studying 89 coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from goat milk. The bacteria were supposed to belong to the species Staphylococcus caprae. The results obtained from the API-STAPH system showed variations in their phenotypic features. DNA cleavage with EcoRI yielded six ribotypes and three distinct patterns were generated when the DNA of the strains was digested with HindIII. Forty-six strains were correctly characterized as S. caprae by the two methods. In addition, 37 isolates having atypical biochemical profiles with the API-STAPH system were confirmed as being S. caprae by the ribotyping. Three strains remained unclassified by both methods. Ribotypes generated by HindIII were found to be the most informative for species determination, whereas the number of bands generated by EcoRI indicated the usefulness of this enzyme in S. caprae typing.