title: Skin Commensal Staphylococci May Act as Reservoir for Fusidic Acid Resistance Genes.
abstract: We analyzed the occurrence and mechanisms of fusidic acid resistance present in staphylococci isolated from 59 healthy volunteers. The fingers of the volunteers were screened for the presence of staphylococci, and the collected isolates were tested for resistance to fusidic acid. A total of 34 fusidic acid resistant staphylococcal strains (all were coagulase-negative) were isolated from 22 individuals (22/59, 37.3%). Examination of the resistance genes revealed that acquired fusB or fusC was present in Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus capitis subsp. urealyticus, Staphylococcus hominis subsp. hominis, Staphylococcus warneri and Staphylococcus haemolyticus. Resistance islands (RIs) carrying fusB were found in S. epidermidis and S. capitis subsp. urealyticus, while staphylococcal chromosome cassette (SCC)-related structures harboring fusC were found in S. hominis subsp. hominis. Genotypic analysis of S. epidermidis and S. hominis subsp. hominis indicated that the fus elements were disseminated in diverse genetic strain backgrounds. The fusC elements in S. hominis subsp. hominis strains were highly homologous to SCCfusC in the epidemic sequence type (ST) 239/SCCmecIII methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) or the pseudo SCCmec in ST779 MRSA. The presence of acquired fusidic acid resistance genes and their genetic environment in commensal staphylococci suggested that the skin commensal staphylococci may act as reservoir for fusidic acid resistance genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiao-Jan
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Tzu
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.|Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jui-Chang
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Taipei First Girls High School, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chiao-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Taipei First Girls High School, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiao-Hung
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Sung-Pin
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Yu
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Jheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kin Hong
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Leong
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lee-Jene
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Teng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001483:Base Sequence; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005672:Fusidic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D005672:Fusidic Acid