Comparative genomics of reveals species determinants.

is primarily described as a human skin commensal but is now emergent as an opportunistic pathogen isolated from the bloodstream and prosthetic joint infections, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)-associated sepsis. We used comparative genomic analyses of to provide new insights into commensal scalp isolates from varying skin states (healthy, dandruff lesional, and non-lesional), and to expand our current knowledge of the species populations (scalp isolates, = 59; other skin isolates, = 7; publicly available isolates, = 120). A highly recombinogenic population structure was revealed, with genomes including the presence of a range of previously described staphylococcal virulence factors, cell wall-associated proteins, and two-component systems.