BACKGROUND: the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) associated with staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) in the USA300 clone of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus enhances its fitness and ability to colonize the host. Staphylococcus epidermidis may act as a reservoir of ACME for S. aureus. We assessed the diffusion of ACME in methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) isolates colonizing outpatients. METHODS: seventy-eight MRSE strains isolated in outpatients from five countries were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and SCCmec typing and screened for the arcA and opp3AB markers of ACME. ACME-arcA and ACME-opp3AB were sequenced. ACME type I from MRSE and USA300 were compared by long-range PCR (LR-PCR). RESULTS: fifty-three (67.9%) MRSE strains carried an ACME element, including 19 (24.4%), 32 (41.0%) and 2 (2.6%) with ACME type I (arcA+/opp3AB+), II (arcA+/opp3AB-) and III (arcA-/opp3AB+), respectively. The prevalence of ACME did not differ between clonal complex 2 (42/60 strains) and other sequence types (11/18 strains, P = 0.7), with MLST data suggesting frequent intraspecies acquisition. ACME-arcA sequences were highly conserved, whereas ACME-opp3AB displayed 11 distinct allotypes. ACME was found in 14/29, 9/11 and 30/37 strains with type IV, type V and non-typeable SCCmec, respectively (P = 0.01). ACME was more frequently associated with ccrC than with ccrAB2 (82.4% versus 60.0%, P = 0.048). LR-PCR indicated structural homologies of ACME I between MRSE and USA300. CONCLUSIONS: ACME is widely disseminated in MRSE strains colonizing outpatients and may contribute to their spread in a community environment with low antibiotic exposure, as suggested for USA300.
BACKGROUND: the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) associated with staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) in the USA300 clone of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus enhances its fitness and ability to colonize the host. Staphylococcus epidermidis may act as a reservoir of ACME for S. aureus. We assessed the diffusion of ACME in methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) isolates colonizing outpatients. METHODS: seventy-eight MRSE strains isolated in outpatients from five countries were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and SCCmec typing and screened for the arcA and opp3AB markers of ACME. ACME-arcA and ACME-opp3AB were sequenced. ACME type I from MRSE and USA300 were compared by long-range PCR (LR-PCR). RESULTS: fifty-three (67.9%) MRSE strains carried an ACME element, including 19 (24.4%), 32 (41.0%) and 2 (2.6%) with ACME type I (arcA+/opp3AB+), II (arcA+/opp3AB-) and III (arcA-/opp3AB+), respectively. The prevalence of ACME did not differ between clonal complex 2 (42/60 strains) and other sequence types (11/18 strains, P = 0.7), with MLST data suggesting frequent intraspecies acquisition. ACME-arcA sequences were highly conserved, whereas ACME-opp3AB displayed 11 distinct allotypes. ACME was found in 14/29, 9/11 and 30/37 strains with type IV, type V and non-typeable SCCmec, respectively (P = 0.01). ACME was more frequently associated with ccrC than with ccrAB2 (82.4% versus 60.0%, P = 0.048). LR-PCR indicated structural homologies of ACME I between MRSE and USA300. CONCLUSIONS:ACME is widely disseminated in MRSE strains colonizing outpatients and may contribute to their spread in a community environment with low antibiotic exposure, as suggested for USA300.
Authors: B A Espedido; J A Steen; T Barbagiannakos; J Mercer; D L Paterson; S M Grimmond; M A Cooper; I B Gosbell; S J van Hal; S O Jensen Journal: Antimicrob Agents Chemother Date: 2012-03-05 Impact factor: 5.191
Authors: Anna C Shore; Angela S Rossney; Orla M Brennan; Peter M Kinnevey; Hilary Humphreys; Derek J Sullivan; Richard V Goering; Ralf Ehricht; Stefan Monecke; David C Coleman Journal: Antimicrob Agents Chemother Date: 2011-02-22 Impact factor: 5.191
Authors: Artur J Sabat; Robin Köck; Viktoria Akkerboom; Ron Hendrix; Robert L Skov; Karsten Becker; Alexander W Friedrich Journal: Antimicrob Agents Chemother Date: 2013-09-03 Impact factor: 5.191
Authors: B Hellmark; C Berglund; A Nilsdotter-Augustinsson; M Unemo; B Söderquist Journal: Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis Date: 2013-01-06 Impact factor: 3.267