Molecular Characteristics, Virulence Gene and Wall Teichoic Acid Glycosyltransferase Profiles of Staphylococcus aureus: A Multicenter Study in China

Frontiers in Microbiology

Jun Lin¹  Lijun Wang²  Zhijun Zhao³  Tao Huang⁴  Weihua Wang⁵  Mengyuan Xiong⁶  Yirong Li⁶  Junying Zhou⁶  Xuehan Li⁶  Jin Zhao⁶  Xiao Xiao⁶  Yunbao Pan⁶ 

[1] Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China;Department of Laboratory Medicine, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Beijing, China;Department of Laboratory Medicine, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China;Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hainan General Hospital, Haikou, China;Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China;Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China;

关键词: Staphylococcus aureus;    molecular characterization;    virulence gene;    wall choice acid;    glycosyltransferase;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2020.02013

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) constantly evolves under host and environment pressures. The monitoring network is essential in assessing the epidemiology of S. aureus infections. A total of 555 S. aureus isolates were collected from five hospitals in three different geographical regions of China for the investigation of molecular characteristics, antibiotic resistance, virulence gene, and wall teichoic acid (WTA) glycosyltransferase gene profiles. 233 (42.0%) isolates were identified as MRSA, and 323 (58.2%) were defined as multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates. MRSA prevalence showed no significant difference among the three regions. In contrast, the MDR prevalence was significantly higher in central China than that in northern China (63.5% vs. 50.8%, P < 0.05). Thirty-eight sequence types (STs) belonging to 17 clone complexes (CCs) and 126 distinct spa-types were identified. The most prevalent clone was ST59-t437 (9.7%, 54/555), followed by ST22-t309 (7.6%, 42/555) and ST5-t2460 (7.2%, 40/555). Most ST59-t437 and ST5-t2460 were MRSA isolates, whereas most ST22-t309 was MSSA isolates. The predominant clones varied in different geographical areas. The distribution of the pvl, etb, tsst, clfb, sdrC, sdrD, hlg, fnbA, and hla genes showed significant differences among different regions. We found five WTA glycosyltransferase gene profiles, with tarP-/tarS+/tarM-/tagN- being the most common combination. Remarkably, the tarP gene was identified in more CCs than just CC5 and CC398. All of 16 tarP-positive isolates also contained the tarS. Moreover, tarS was present in almost all S. aureus isolates except 10 ST630 isolates. The tagN gene was only detected in 10 of 12 ST630 S. aureus isolates without tarS. The tarM gene was absent in CC5 and CC398. In brief, there were regional differences among molecular characteristics, antibiotic resistance, and virulence gene profiles. The tarS-negative ST630 lineage carried the tagN, which was never found before, indicating that it may be capable of expressing GroP-α-GalNAc WTA and exchanging mobile genetic elements with coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS).

【 授权许可】

Unknown