Identification of a new putative enterotoxin SEU encoded by the egc cluster of Staphylococcus aureus.
OBJECTIVE
This paper reports on a new putative enterotoxin SEU encoded by the enterotoxin gene cluster egc from Staphylococcus aureus and on a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detecting the seu gene.


RESULTS
PCR and sequencing revealed a new putative enterotoxin SEU encoded by some egc clusters. The seu gene resulted from sequence divergence in the psient1 and psient2 pseudogenes previously described in the egc cluster (Jarraud et al. [2001] Journal of Immunology166, 669). The presence of the seu gene was investigated in a collection of S. aureus strains by conventional PCR and by a specific 5'-nuclease PCR assay. Among the 24 strains harbouring the egc cluster, four tested positive for the seu gene.


CONCLUSIONS
The existence of the seu gene adds to the number of newly described se genes and underlines the need for a better understanding of their role in the pathogenesis of S. aureus.


CONCLUSIONS
A thorough study of the seu gene should provide further insight into the phylogenetics of the staphylococcal enterotoxins.
Letertre
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Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA), Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur l'Hygiène et la Qualité des Aliments, Unité: Atelier de Biotechnologie, Maisons-Alfort, France.
Perelle
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Dilasser
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Fach
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001483:Base Sequence; D003470:Culture Media; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D003470:Culture Media; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins