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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1136-1143, Vol. 38, No. 3
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus sciuri Strains Isolated from Humans

Isabel Couto,1,2,3 Ilda Santos Sanches,1,3 Raquel Sá-Leão,1 and Hermínia de Lencastre1,2,*

Molecular Genetics Unit, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB/UNL), 2781-156 Oeiras,1 and Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (FCT/UNL), 2825-114 Caparica,3 Portugal, and Laboratory of Microbiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 100212

Received 26 October 1999/Returned for modification 4 December 1999/Accepted 11 December 1999

We previously characterized over 100 Staphylococcus sciuri isolates, mainly of animal origin, and found that they all carried a genetic element (S. sciuri mecA) closely related to the mecA gene of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. We also found a few isolates that carried a second copy of the gene, identical to MRSA mecA. In this work, we analyzed a collection of 28 S. sciuri strains isolated from both healthy and hospitalized individuals. This was a relatively heterogeneous group, as inferred from the different sources, places, and dates of isolation and as confirmed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis. All strains carried the S. sciuri mecA copy, sustaining our previous proposal that this element belongs to the genetic background of S. sciuri. Moreover, 46% of the strains also carried the MRSA mecA copy. Only these strains showed significant levels of resistance to beta-lactams. Strikingly, the majority of the strains carrying the additional MRSA mecA copy were obtained from healthy individuals in an antibiotic-free environment. Most of the 28 strains were resistant to penicillin, intermediately resistant to clindamycin, and susceptible to tetracycline, erythromycin, and gentamicin. Resistance to these last three antibiotics was found in some strains only. The findings reported in this work confirmed the role of S. sciuri in the evolution of the mechanism of resistance to methicillin in staphylococci and suggested that this species (like the pathogenic staphylococci) may accumulate resistance markers for several classes of antibiotics.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Microbiology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 327-8277. Fax: (212) 327-8688. E-mail: lencash{at}rockvax.rockefeller.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1136-1143, Vol. 38, No. 3
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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