Abstract
The present study was designed to investigate the potential of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to identify Trueperella (T.) pyogenes isolated from bovine clinical mastitis. FT-IR spectroscopy was applied to 57 isolates obtained from 55 cows in a period from 2009 to 2012. Prior to FT-IR spectroscopy these isolates were identified by phenotypic and genotypic properties, also including the determination of seven potential virulence factor encoding genes. The FT-IR analysis revealed a reliable identification of all 57 isolates as T. pyogenes and a clear separation of this species from the other species of genus Trueperella and from species of genus Arcanobacterium and Actinomyces. The results showed that all 57 isolates were assigned to the correct species indicating that FT-IR spectroscopy could also be efficiently used for identification of this bacterial pathogen.