Phylogenetically distinct Staphylococcus aureus lineage prevalent among indigenous communities in northern Australia.

The aim was to determine the evolutionary position of the Staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 75 (CC75) that is prevalent in tropical northern Australia. Sequencing of gap, rpoB, sodA, tuf, and hsp60 and the multilocus sequence typing loci revealed a clear separation between conventional S. aureus and CC75 and significant diversity within CC75.

Assignment of Streptococcus agalactiae isolates to clonal complexes using a small set of single nucleotide polymorphisms.

Background: Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus (GBS)) is an important human pathogen, particularly of newborns. Emerging evidence for a relationship between genotype and virulence has accentuated the need for efficient and well-defined typing methods. The objective of this study was to develop a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based method for assigning GBS isolates to multilocus sequence typing (MLST)-defined clonal complexes.

High-resolution melting analysis of the spa repeat region of Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: The staphylococcal protein A (spa) locus of Staphylococcus aureus contains a complex repeat structure and is commonly used for single-locus sequence-based genotyping. The real-time PCR platform supports genotyping methods that are single step and closed tube and potentially can be carried out simultaneously with diagnosis. We describe here a method for genotyping S.

Systematic derivation of marker sets for staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing.

The aim of this study was to identify optimized sets of genotyping targets for the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). We analyzed the gene contents of 46 SCCmec variants in order to identify minimal subsets of targets that provide useful resolution. This was achieved by firstly identifying and characterizing each available SCCmec element based on the presence or absence of 34 binary targets.

Use of a single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping system to demonstrate the unique epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in remote aboriginal communities.

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has emerged as a major public health problem in Australia, as in many other parts of the world. High rates of CA-MRSA skin and soft tissue infection have been reported from Aboriginal communities. We used a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping typing system based on the multilocus sequence type (MLST) database to investigate the epidemiology of CA-MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus genotyping using a small set of polymorphisms.

The aim of this study was to identify a set of genetic polymorphisms that efficiently divides methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains into groups consistent with the population structure. The rationale was that such polymorphisms could underpin rapid real-time PCR or low-density array-based methods for monitoring MRSA dissemination in a cost-effective manner. Previously, the authors devised a computerized method for identifying sets of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with high resolving power that are defined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) databases, and also developed a real-time PCR method for interrogating a seven-member SNP set for genotyping S.

Genetic diversity among community methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains causing outpatient infections in Australia.

Increasing reports of the appearance of novel nonmultiresistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA (MRSA) strains in the community and of the spread of hospital MRSA strains into the community are cause for public health concern. We conducted two national surveys of unique isolates of S. aureus from clinical specimens collected from nonhospitalized patients commencing in 2000 and 2002, respectively.

mecA Locus diversity in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Brisbane, Australia, and the development of a novel diagnostic procedure for the Western Samoan phage pattern clone.

An emerging public health phenomenon is the increasing incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections that are acquired outside of health care facilities. One lineage of community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) is known as the Western Samoan phage pattern (WSPP) clone. The central aim of this study was to develop an efficient genotyping procedure for the identification of WSPP isolates.