Bovine Clinical <i>E. coli</i> Mastitis in Italian Dairy Herds Is Not Associated with a Specific Pathotype.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Escherichia coli is a cause of severe clinical bovine mastitis; however, it is not yet fully understood what makes mastitis-associated bacteria different from commensal strains at the genetic level. The goal of this study was to compare the genomic features, sequence types, virulence, and antibiotic resistance profiles of E. coli isolated from healthy cows and cows with clinical mastitis in Northern Italy.

Methods

Between 2023 and 2024, 46 E. coli isolates, 23 from healthy animals and 23 from mastitis cases were recovered. Standard phenotypic approaches and Oxford Nanopore sequencing were used to investigate the genomic landscape of the strains.

Results

Phylogroups A and B1 were the most common in both groups. MLST showed several types,

SUBMITTER: Laterza G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12655363 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature