Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the most common pathogens leading to mastitis in dairy herds worldwide; consequently, the pathogen causes major economic losses for affected farmers. In this study, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), genotypic capsular typing by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and virulence gene detection were performed to address the molecular epidemiology of 59 bovine (mastitis) S. agalactiae isolates from 36 dairy farms located in the largest milk-producing mesoregions in Brazil (Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, and Pernambuco). We screened for the virulence genes bac, bca, bibA, cfb, hylB, fbsA, fbsB, PI-1, PI-2a, and PI-2b, which are associated with adhesion, invasion, tissue damage, and/or immune evasion. Furthermore, five capsular types were identified (Ia, Ib, II, III, and IV), and a few isolates were classified as non-typeable (NT). MLST revealed the following eight sequence types (STs): ST-61, ST-67, ST-103, ST-146, ST-226, ST-314, and ST-570, which were clustered in five clonal complexes (CC64, CC67, CC103, CC17, and CC314), and one singleton, ST-91. Among the virulence genes screened in this study, PI-2b, fbsB, cfb, and hylB appear to be the most important during mastitis development in cattle. Collectively, these results establish the molecular epidemiology of S. agalactiae isolated from cows in Brazilian herds. We believe that the data presented here provide a foundation for future research aimed at developing and implementing new preventative and treatment options for mastitis caused by S. agalactiae.

Canine otitis externa is a disease that affects the external acoustic meatus of about 20% of dogs at some point in life, without predilection for race, age, or sex. It is a multifactorial disease whose etiology involves several microorganisms, detaching Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrobials are the basis for treating this illness; however, due to the increase in antimicrobial resistance, conventional drugs have become ineffective, requiring the search for alternative therapies. In this context, essential oils (EOs) have great therapeutic potential due to their broad antimicrobial action. This study aimed to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in order to measure the MIC50 and MIC90 of gentamicin and EOs of Eugenia caryophyllata, Thymus vulgaris, Cymbopogon winterianus, Cymbopogon citratus, and Cinnamomum cassia against 62 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from the external acoustic meatus of dogs. All EOs showed antibacterial action against the studied microorganisms, and their MIC50 and MIC90 were as follows: Eugenia caryophyllata, 2.42 mg mL-1 and 7.25 mg mL-1; Thymus vulgaris, 9.51 mg mL-1 and 22.94 mg mL-1; Cymbopogon winterianus, 26.78 mg mL-1 and 157.79 mg mL-1; Cinnamomum cassia and Cymbopogon citratus, lower than 16.48 and 27.81 mg mL-1, with the same MIC for all isolates. The MIC50 and MIC90 found for gentamicin were 1μg mL-1 and 8 μg mL-1. The MIC range found to antibiotic in this assay was 0.5 μg mL-1 to 128 μg mL-1, and the isolates were classified as susceptible [48 strains (77.41%) - MIC range of 0.5-4.0 μg mL-1], intermediate [eight strains (12.90%) - (MIC = 8.0 μg mL-1], or resistant [six strains (9.68%) - MIC ≥ 16 μg mL-1]. The results, according to the in vitro assays, showed that resistance to gentamicin, one of the antimicrobials most commonly used to treat canine otitis, is present in the Staphylococcus aureus population evaluated. Additionally, the tested EOs have great potential for therapeutic use, however future studies should be carried out to evaluate their in vivo efficacy.