Novel organization of the arginine catabolic mobile element and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec composite island and its horizontal transfer between distinct Staphylococcus aureus genotypes

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2013 Nov;57(11):5774-7. doi: 10.1128/AAC.01321-13. Epub 2013 Sep 3.

Abstract

In this study, 425 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered in the Dutch-German Euregio were investigated for the presence of the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME). Sequence analysis by whole-genome sequencing revealed an entirely new organization of the ACME-staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec composite island (SCCmec-CI), with truncated ACME type II located downstream of SCCmec. An identical nucleotide sequence of ACME-SCCmec-CI was found in two distinct MRSA lineages (t064-ST8 and t002-ST5), which has not been reported previously in S. aureus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arginine / genetics
  • Arginine / metabolism*
  • Base Sequence
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Chromosomes, Bacterial*
  • DNA Transposable Elements*
  • Gene Transfer, Horizontal*
  • Genome, Bacterial*
  • Genotype
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Methicillin Resistance / genetics*
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics*
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutagenesis, Insertional
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology

Substances

  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • Arginine

Associated data

  • GENBANK/KF148619
  • GENBANK/KF175393
  • GENBANK/KF184643
  • GENBANK/KF184644
  • GENBANK/KF184645
  • GENBANK/KF234240