Identification of the clonal complexes of Staphylococcus aureus strains by determination of the conservation patterns of small genomic islets

M. Suzuki, M. Matsumoto, M. Takahashi, Y. Hayakawa, H. Minagawa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the clonality of Staphylococcus aureus isolates, it is important to identify their clonal complexes (CCs) with multilocus sequence typing (MLST). However, it is expensive to carry out MLST analyses for many isolates. The aim of this study, therefore, was to develop a cost-effective method to identify CCs by determining the conservation pattern of 'small genomic islets' (SGIs). SGIs are nonconserved regions between strains and have single or multiple open-reading frames (ORFs). Methods and Results: The whole-genome sequences of nine strains were compared in order to select 16 SGIs. The conservation patterns of the 16 SGIs (islet patterns) were investigated in 136 S. aureus isolates, which were classified into 21 CCs. The islet patterns (IPs) exhibited a one-to-one correspondence with the CCs, except for isolates belonging to CC1, CC5 and CC8. The IPs typical of strains belonging to CC1, CC5 and CC8 differed between those of sequence type 1 (ST1) and ST188 (CC1), ST5 and ST6 (CC5) and ST8 and ST239 (CC8). Significance and Impact of the Study: The CCs of many isolates can be identified in an easy and inexpensive manner by detecting these 16 SGIs. Emergent clones, particularly methicillin-resistant ones, can be identified by examining numerous islets by IP analysis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1367-1374
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Applied Microbiology
Volume107
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10-2009
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biotechnology
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Identification of the clonal complexes of Staphylococcus aureus strains by determination of the conservation patterns of small genomic islets'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this