This five-year, $790,000 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) will fund research into non-aureus staphylococci (NAS) mammary infections in dairy cattle. Specifically, the University of Missouri will determine predictable molecular patterns among Staphylococcus chromogenes isolates, identify when S. chromogenes mammary infections typically occur in dairy heifers to inform preventative management strategies, and ascertain whether phenotypic behaviors of S. chromogenes intramammary infections are reproducible using a heifer challenge model. The research aims to increase understanding of strain-specific differences in S. chromogenes and their association with udder health outcomes. Results will provide new data on the relationships between S. chromogenes infections or skin colonization and udder health, and examine whether certain strains are beneficial to mammary health.
Generated 1/6/24, 10:04 AM