In vitro indices of tissue adherence in Staphylococcus intermedius.

In vitro indices of adherence showed that strains of Staphylococcus intermedius from lesions of canine pyoderma differed from strains isolated from normal carrier sites in that a significantly greater proportion of pyoderma strains adhered to extracellular matrix proteins whilst fewer adhered to polystyrene. Slime production and a hydrophobicity index did not differ between the groups. This suggests that exposure of extracellular matrix proteins due to underlying disease may result in the selection of a narrower spectrum of strains from amongst those at carrier sites.