[Correlation between methicillin-resistance and resistance to fluoroquinolones in Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis].

Fluoroquinolones resistance in Staphylococci is associated to point mutations in grlA (80,84 and 116) grlB, gyrA (84,88) and gyrB genes. Almost all MRSA strains are ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin resistant while, in a lesser degree, MRCoN staphylococci show to be resistant to levofloxacin. This observation made possible to predict a different correlation between methicillin-resistance and the resistance to FQs in this two different species. In this study, we compare genomic analysis of S. aureus and S. epidermidis with the resistance to FQs. Our results show that strains of MRSA are distributed in 4 different PFGE-types while 12 MRSE strains are distributed in 9. MRSA resistant to FQs showed a unique PFGE pattern; on the contrary of FQs susceptible MRSA and MSSA. Furthermore mecA and gyrA genes are located in the same SmaI fragment in MRSA and in different in MRSE. MSSE and MRSE show more ClaI/mecA polymorphisms than MRSA. All this data confirm the clonal origin of MRSA and show that FQs resistance is linked to the presence of mec locus and both clonally spread. On the contrary in MRSE FQs-resistance is independent from MR and arise with the normal frequence of antibiotic induction.