• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Shared antibiotic resistance and virulence genes in Staphylococcus aureus from diverse animal hosts
  • Contributor: Bruce, Spencer A.; Smith, Joshua T.; Mydosh, Jennifer L.; Ball, John; Needle, David B.; Gibson, Robert; Andam, Cheryl P.
  • imprint: Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022
  • Published in: Scientific Reports, 12 (2022) 1
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08230-z
  • ISSN: 2045-2322
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The emergence of methicillin-resistant <jats:italic>Staphylococcus aureus</jats:italic> (MRSA) poses an important threat in human and animal health. In this study, we ask whether resistance and virulence genes in <jats:italic>S. aureus</jats:italic> are homogeneously distributed or constrained by different animal hosts. We carried out whole genome sequencing of 114 <jats:italic>S. aureus</jats:italic> isolates from ten species of animals sampled from four New England states (USA) in 2017–2019. The majority of the isolates came from cats, cows and dogs. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree based on the alignment of 89,143 single nucleotide polymorphisms of 1173 core genes reveal 31 sequence types (STs). The most common STs were ST5, ST8, ST30, ST133 and ST2187. Every genome carried at least eight acquired resistance genes. Genes related to resistance found in all genomes included <jats:italic>norA</jats:italic> (fluoroquinolone)<jats:italic>, arlRS</jats:italic> (fluoroquinolone)<jats:italic>, lmrS</jats:italic> (multidrug)<jats:italic>, tet(38)</jats:italic> (tetracycline) <jats:italic>and mepAR</jats:italic> (multidrug and tigecycline resistance). The most common superantigen genes were <jats:italic>tsst-1</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>sea</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>sec</jats:italic>. Acquired antibiotic resistance (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 10) and superantigen (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 9) genes of <jats:italic>S. aureus</jats:italic> were widely shared between <jats:italic>S. aureus</jats:italic> lineages and between strains from different animal hosts. These analyses provide insights for considering bacterial gene sharing when developing strategies to combat the emergence of high-risk clones in animals.</jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access