Novel type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated in Sweden.
We identified a novel type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) element carried by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain JCSC6082 isolated in Sweden. The SCCmec element was demarcated by characteristic nucleotide sequences at both ends and was integrated at the 3' end of orfX. The element carried a novel combination of a type 5 ccr gene complex and class C1 mec gene complex. The J regions of the element were homologous to those of the SCCmercury element of S. aureus strain 85/2082, with nucleotide identity greater than 99%. However, the novel SCCmec element from JCSC6082 did not carry the mer operon nor Tn554, suggesting that evolution to SCCmec could have been from a common ancestor by acquisition of the class C1 mec gene complex. The novel SCCmec element from JCSC6082 was flanked by a novel SCC-like chromosome cassette (CC6082), which was demarcated by two direct repeats and could be excised from the chromosome independently of the SCCmec element. Our data suggest that novel SCCmec elements can be generated on the staphylococcal chromosome through the recombination between extant SCC elements and mec gene complexes.
Berglund
Carolina
C
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Orebro University Hospital, SE-701 85 Orebro, Sweden. carolina.berglund@orebroll.se
Ito
Teruyo
T
Ikeda
Megumi
M
Ma
Xiao Xue
XX
Söderquist
Bo
B
Hiramatsu
Keiichi
K
D018784:Abdominal Abscess / Q000382:microbiology; D000328:Adult; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013548:Sweden
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus