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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2009, p. 3624-3629, Vol. 47, No. 11
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00941-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Non-spa-Typeable Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Strains Are Naturally Occurring Protein A Mutants {triangledown}

Cathrin Baum,1 Bettina Haslinger-Löffler,1 Henrik Westh,2,3 Kit Boye,2 Georg Peters,1 Claudia Neumann,1 and Barbara C. Kahl1*

Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital, Münster, Germany,1 Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre,2 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark3

Received 8 May 2009/ Returned for modification 6 July 2009/ Accepted 31 August 2009

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen responsible for increasing the prevalence of community- and hospital-acquired infections. Protein A (SpA) is a key virulence factor of S. aureus and is highly conserved. Sequencing of the variable-number tandem-repeat region of SpA (spa typing) provides a rapid and reliable method for epidemiological studies. Rarely, non-spa-typeable S. aureus strains are encountered. The reason for this is not known. In this study, we characterized eight non-spa-typeable bacteremia isolates. Sequencing of the entire spa locus was successful for five strains and revealed various mutations of spa, all of which included a deletion of immunoglobulin G binding domain C, in which the upper primer for spa typing is located, while two strains were truly spa negative. This is the first report demonstrating that nontypeability of S. aureus by spa sequencing is due either to mutation or to a true deficiency of spa.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Muenster, Domagkstr. 10, 48149 Münster, Germany. Phone: 49 251 83 55381. Fax: 49 251 83 55350. E-mail: kahl{at}uni-muenster.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 16 September 2009.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2009, p. 3624-3629, Vol. 47, No. 11
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00941-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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