Non-epidermidis coagulase-negative Staphylococcus isolated from farm animals can inhibit the hemagglutinating activity of Newcastle disease virus and bovine parainfluenza virus type 3

The Embp protein of Staphylococcus epidermidis inhibits the hemagglutination of the H1N1 influenza virus and protects birds from a viral respiratory infection. Several species of Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) are present in the respiratory cavity, particularly in nostrils. We hypothesize that non-epidermidis CoNS found in animals can have the same function as observed in S. epidermidis. Thirty Non-epidermidis CoNS isolates were obtained from poultry, sheep, goat, pig, and dairy cow nostrils. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) activity was assayed in bacteria-free supernatants from non-epidermidis CoNS against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV). In 13 of the 30 strains (43.3 %), bacteria-free supernatants showed HI activity for NDV and BPIV-3. Staphylococcus xylosus supernatants from poultry (one isolate), sheep (two isolates), goat (one isolate), and dairy cow (three isolates) had the highest frequency of HI activity on NDV and BPIV-3, followed by Staphylococcus sp. supernatants from goat (one isolate), dairy cow (two isolates), and finally Staphylococcus equorum, Staphylococcus chromogens and Staphylococcus gallinarum supernatants with single isolation from poultry, pig and poultry, respectively. Nine isolates had the homologous gene to the embp gene of S. epidermidis, and it was associated with HI activity in the studied viruses. By Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, S. xylosus isolates showed to be different clones and related to the origin of isolation and HI activity. These results demonstrate that non-epidermidis CoNS supernatants from different animals and origins have the ability of HI on NDV and BPIV-3, indicating that not only S. epidermidis has the same function.

Automated summary

The study found that supernatants of non-epidermidis CoNS from different animals have hemagglutination inhibition activity against Newcastle disease virus and bovine parainfluenza virus type 3, indicating that not only S. epidermidis, other CoNS species also have similar functions.