Detection of Mastitis Pathogens in Raw Milk of Symptomatic Cows Application Note · qTOWER3

Introduction

Mycoplasma and especially Mycoplasma bovis as well Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalastiae are harmful pathogens for cows and calves, which can cause inflammation and the Mastitis disease. Mastitis leads to a reduction in the quantity of milk, which, in addition to animal health and welfare, is also an important economic factor for farmers. In veterinary diagnostics it is important to isolate the harmful bacteria from the milk and to detect them precisely. Since Mycoplasma bovis has no cell wall and is therefore naturally resistant to antibiotic therapy, therapy is particularly difficult. Only isolation of the symptomatic cows can prevent it from spreading.

The extraction of bacterial DNA from milk is a challenge due to the diversity of ingredients, such as fat, sugar and proteins. That’s why a special extraction kit or procedure is recommended, for instance the Mastit 4C Kit by DNA Diagnostic which is perfectly optimized for the extraction of bacterial DNA from milk.

The extracted nucleic acid can then be detected using the qTOWER³ for quantitative real-time PCR and the Mastit 4C Kit from DNA Diagnostic. The detection kit Mastit 4C Kit detects up to four targets in parallel like Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalastiae and Mycoplasma bovis and Mycoplasma species and provides an amplification control in addition.

This application note describes a method for the detection of different pathogens with the Mastit 4C Kit by DNA Diagnostic on the qTOWER³ and proves its specificity.