prevalence of six genes encoding enterotoxins production of staphylococcus aureus isolated from white-brined-cheese by multiplex pcr

Isolation, identification and grouping of Staphylococcal enterotoxins in milk is of great importance since these toxins are considered as a major potential source of human illness. In this study, 22 coagulasepositive strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from white brine cheese produced in rural areas of Maragheh, were assessed for the existence of six genes encoding enterotoxin synthesis using multiplex PCR. For this, extracted DNA was subjected to multiplex PCR for the presence of enterotoxin a, b, g, h, i and j genes. Amongst seg was the most frequent (8 strains) gene; meanwhile seb gene was not detected in any of the isolates. According to the results, 9 strains (40.9%) harbored the genes encoding enterotoxin production. Four strains (18.18%) contained more than one enterotoxin gene. The results of this study indicated that most of Staphylococcus aureus isolates in traditional cheeses have the potency to produce enterotoxin.