Studies of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> virulence factors during infection in bovine mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the most common bacteria causing bovine mastitis in Sweden and many other countries, and mastitis is the most common production disease in dairy cows world-wide. To improve animal health and reduce economic losses for the farmers, it is essential to significantly reduce mastitis prevalence. To successfully achieve this, it is necessary to significantly improve the current knowledge about the virulence factors of S. aureus.

The project will use novel approaches to study the impact of different virulence factors, including superantigen toxins (SAgs), on infection of bovine mammary epithelial cells. These data, as well as genetic information about virulence genes present in selected S. aureus isolates, will be correlated to clinical and production data of the infected cows. In parallel, a proteomics-based method to study cellular changes in protein expression will be developed. Initial studies of differences in the protein expression during the infection process will be done.

The knowledge of the impact of different virulence factors on mastitis will enable development of specific diagnostic tools to identify highly pathogenic strains of S. aureus, establishment of relevant management strategies and design of vaccines.