This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Argudín, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Rodicio, M. R.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Argudín, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Rodicio, M. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2009, p. 2097-2105, Vol. 47, No. 7
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01486-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Clonal Complexes and Diversity of Exotoxin Gene Profiles in Methicillin-Resistant and Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Patients in a Spanish Hospital{triangledown}

M. A. Argudín,1 M. C. Mendoza,1 F. J. Méndez,1,2 M. C. Martín,3 B. Guerra,4 and M. R. Rodicio1*

Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Biología Funcional, and Instituto Universitario de Biotecnología de Asturias, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain,1 Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain,2 Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias, Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain,3 Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany4

Received 2 August 2008/ Returned for modification 2 October 2008/ Accepted 13 May 2009

Molecular epidemiology studies have allowed the identification of the methicillin (meticillin)-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) clonal complexes (CCs) and clones of Staphylococcus aureus circulating in a Spanish hospital recently. Of 81 isolates tested, 32.1% were MRSA. Most of them carried staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) IVc (88.5%) and belonged to CC5 (88.5%; multilocus sequence typing types ST125 [mainly associated with spa type t067], ST5, and ST228). A higher diversity was found among MSSA isolates (67.9%). Eighty percent shared the genetic background of major MRSA lineages (CC5 [38.2%; ST125 and ST5], CC30 [25.5%; ST30], CC45 [14.5%; ST45 and ST47], and CC8 [1.8%; ST8]), but CC12, CC15, CC51, and CC59 were also detected. Many exotoxin genes were present in each of the 81 isolates, independent of whether they were involved in sepsis (11 to 22) or other types of infections (13 to 21), and they appeared in 73 combinations. The relevant data are that (i) all isolates were positive for hemolysin and leukotoxin genes (98.8% for lukED and 25.9% for lukPV); (ii) all contained an enterotoxin gene cluster (egc with or without seu), frequently with one or more genes encoding classical enterotoxins; (iii) about half were positive for tst and 95% were positive for exfoliatin-encoding genes (eta, etb, and/or etd); and (iv) the four agr groups were detected, with agrII (55.6%) and agrIII (23.5%) being the most frequent. Taken together, results of the present study suggest a frequent acquisition and/or loss of exotoxin genes, which may be mediated by efficient intralineage transfer of mobile genetic elements and exotoxin genes therein and by eventual breakage of interlineage barriers.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Biología Funcional, Facultad de Medicina, Julián Clavería 6, 33006 Oviedo, Spain. Phone: 34985103562. Fax: 34985103148. E-mail: rrodicio{at}fq.uniovi.es

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 20 May 2009.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2009, p. 2097-2105, Vol. 47, No. 7
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01486-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»