The influence of different factors including fnbA and mecA expression on biofilm formed by MRSA clinical isolates with different genetic backgrounds

Abstract

Biofilm formation is considered an important virulence factor in implanted device-associated infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Recent studies demonstrated that the ica-independent biofilms produced by MRSA are multifactorial. Despite the recent progress achieved in this field, the bacterial factors associated with biofilm formation/accumulation and regulation among clinical MRSA isolates remain largely unknown. In this study, using MRSA isolates from diverse multilocus sequence typing (MLST) clonal complexes that produce different amounts of biofilm, and a number of phenotypic and molecular approaches, we investigated the correlation between biofilm-associated factors and the ability of the bacteria to accumulate biofilm.

Keywords: Biofilm; DNase; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Protease; agr; fnbA; pbp2a; sarA.