title: A Look into the Melting Pot: The mecC-Harboring Region Is a Recombination Hot Spot in Staphylococcus stepanovicii.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important driver for resistance- and virulence factor accumulation in pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus.
  
  
  METHODS
  Here, we have investigated the downstream region of the bacterial chromosomal attachment site (attB) for the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) element of a commensal mecC-positive Staphylococcus stepanovicii strain (IMT28705; ODD4) with respect to genetic composition and indications of HGT. S. stepanovicii IMT28705 was isolated from a fecal sample of a trapped wild bank vole (Myodes glareolus) during a screening study (National Network on "Rodent-Borne Pathogens") in Germany. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of IMT28705 together with the mecC-negative type strain CM7717 was conducted in order to comparatively investigate the genomic region downstream of attB (GenBank accession no. KR732654 and KR732653).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The bank vole isolate (IMT28705) harbors a mecC gene which shares 99.2% nucleotide (and 98.5% amino acid) sequence identity with mecC of MRSA_LGA251. In addition, the mecC-encoding region harbors the typical blaZ-mecC-mecR1-mecI structure, corresponding with the class E mec complex. While the sequences downstream of attB in both S. stepanovicii isolates (IMT28705 and CM7717) are partitioned by 15 bp direct repeats, further comparison revealed a remarkable low concordance of gene content, indicating a chromosomal "hot spot" for foreign DNA integration and exchange.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data highlight the necessity for further research on transmission routes of resistance encoding factors from the environmental and wildlife resistome.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Semmler
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ewan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Veterinary Faculty, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Antina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lübke-Becker
authors.affiliation: Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Lothar H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wieler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Veterinary Faculty, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guenther
authors.affiliation: Vet Med Labor GmbH, Division of IDEXX Laboratories, Ludwigsburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ivonne
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stamm
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Anne-Merethe
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hanssen
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Veterinary Faculty, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Szilvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vincze
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Veterinary Faculty, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walther
mesh_terms: D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000235:genetics*