title: Structural variations of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IVa in Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 8 and unrelated lineages.
abstract: PCR mapping of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IVa and adjacent mobile elements in 94 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains identified two primary structures (A and B) that could be further classified into two (A1 and A2) and five (B1 to B5) variants, primarily based on structural differences in the orfX-J3 region. While spa type t008 (USA300) invariably contained the A variants, other spa types belonging to clonal complex 8 and unrelated lineages generally contained B variants. These findings have important implications for the typing and identification of MRSA strains containing B variants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Stigbøjlen 4, 1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. peda@life.ku.dk
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Damborg
authors.forename: Mette Damkjær
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.forename: Kit
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boye
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guardabassi
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Westh
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009735:Nursing Homes; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus