Diverse enterotoxin gene profiles among clonal complexes of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from the Bronx, New York.
Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) can cause toxin-mediated disease, and those that function as superantigens are implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. The prevalence of 19 enterotoxin genes was determined by PCR in clinical S. aureus strains derived from wounds (108) and blood (99). We performed spa typing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine clonal origin, and for selected strains staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) production was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Strains carried a median of five SE genes. For most SE genes, the prevalence rates among methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus isolates, as well as wound- and blood-derived isolates, did not differ. At least one SE gene was detected in all except two S. aureus isolates (>99%). Complete egc clusters were found in only 11% of S. aureus isolates, whereas the combination of sed, sej, and ser was detected in 24% of clinical strains. S. aureus strains exhibited distinct combinations of SE genes, even if their pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and MLST patterns demonstrated clonality. USA300 strains also showed considerable variability in SE content, although they contained a lower number of SE genes (mean, 3). By contrast, SE content was unchanged in five pairs of serial isolates. SEB production by individual strains varied up to 200-fold, and even up to 15-fold in a pair of serial isolates. In conclusion, our results illustrate the genetic diversity of S. aureus strains with respect to enterotoxin genes and suggest that horizontal transfer of mobile genetic elements encoding virulence genes occurs frequently.
Varshney
Avanish K
AK
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Mediavilla
José R
JR
Robiou
Natalie
N
Guh
Alice
A
Wang
Xiabo
X
Gialanella
Philip
P
Levi
Michael H
MH
Kreiswirth
Barry N
BN
Fries
Bettina C
BC
D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D009518:New York; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000382:microbiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins