The aims of this study were to characterize S. aureus isolates from different meat sources in Jordan and study their genetic relationship using PCR-RFLP in addition to their antibiotic resistance profiles. Thirty S. aureus isolates were identified and confirmed by PCR techniques. The isolates from goat and camel meats were sensitive to the majority of the tested antibiotics. Plasmid profiling revealed that 26 isolates contained at least one plasmid with no correlation between the number of plasmids and the resistance profiles. PCR-RFLP of the coagulase gene (coa) classified the isolates to several clusters upon digestion with Alu I or Cfo I restriction enzymes. This study concluded that the 30 S. aureus isolates were genetically diverse and comprised heterogeneous population with 7 genotypes at both 33.1 and 51.2 similarity levels.

Key words: Antibiotics, Coagulase gene, Meat, RFLP, S. aureus