Abstract:     Bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus is difficult to treat because of increasing resistance against antibiotics, especially penicillin. β-Lactamase and biofilm are responsible for penicillin resistance of S. aureus. The aim of this study was to investigate the β-lactamase activity and biofilm formation capacity of 37 penicillin-resistant S. aureus strains (35 were blaZ positive and 2 were blaZ negative) from bovine mastitis in Gansu Province, China, as well as to measure the intercellular adhesion genes icaA and icaD of these strains. β-Lactamase Test Kit was used to determine the β-lactamase activity, biofilm formation was tested by semi-quantitative adherence assay method. Moreover, the presence of icaA and icaD were measured by PCR. A total of 32 penicillin-resistant S. aureus strains, including the two blaZ-negative strains, were identified as β-lactamase producers. All tested S. aureus isolates produced biofilm in the microtiter plate assay. Meanwhile, all these strains were PCR-positive for the ica locus, icaA and icaD. The study indicated high prevalence of β-lactamase activity, biofilm-forming capacity, and the ica genes among the penicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates, and implied that S. aureus resistant to penicillin was attributed to multiple mechanisms.

Key words: Staphylococcus aureus ,  penicillin-resistant ,  β-lactamase ,  biofilm ,  ica