Molecular typing of strains of staphylococcus aureus isolated from bone and joint lesions in lame broilers by random amplification of polymorphic DNA

Bristol University Veterinary School, Langford, N Somerset, United Kingdom. Butterworth@bris.ac.uk

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the presence of localized bacterial infection and lameness in broiler fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus). Isolation of bacteria from the proximal femur, proximal tibia, and tibiotarsus from broilers with lameness revealed a probable association between lameness and the presence of Staphlylococcus aureus. Other potential pathogens, including Escherichia coli and DNase-negative staphylococci, were also isolated from sound and lame birds, and their association with pathologies causing lameness was less well defined. After trials with a set of twenty 10-base oligonucleotide primers, a pair of primers giving optimal performance was selected. The S. aureus isolates were typed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) by using the pair of 10-mer primers, and groupings were defined by banding patterns after agarose gel electrophoresis. The putative RAPD groupings may provide a basis for epidemiological studies of S. aureus in broiler production systems.