AUTHOR=Abd El-Hamid Marwa I. , Sewid Alaa H. , Samir Mohamed , Hegazy Wael A. H. , Bahnass Mosa M. , Mosbah Rasha A. , Ghaith Doaa M. , Khalifa Eman , Ramadan Hazem , Alshareef Walaa A. , Alshareef Hanan M. , Ghoneim Mohammed M. , Al-Sanea Mohammad M. , Bendary Mahmoud M. 

TITLE=Clonal Diversity and Epidemiological Characteristics of ST239-MRSA Strains

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.782045

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.782045

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen associated with severe morbidity and mortality and poses a significant threat to public health worldwide. The genetic diversity based on sequence types of MRSA strains was illustrated in previous studies; meanwhile, the diversity along the predominant sequence type, especially in Egypt, remains unknown. The purpose of the current study was to determine the diversity of the predominant MRSA clone, ST239-MRSA (n = 50) isolated from different hosts and clinical samples and to illustrate the correlation between the resistance patterns, toxin genes and the genetic background in Egypt. The ST239-MRSA clone was analyzed by phenotypic antibiotyping, various genotypic assays comprising SCCmec, agr, spa, coa and coa-RFLP in addition to toxin gene profiles. Most of the analyzed strains (40/50, 80%) were multidrug resistant (MDR), belonged to SCCmec III, agr I, coa genotype I and harbored sea and pvl genes. A negative correlation between the toxin gene profiles and the antimicrobial resistance was recorded. Meanwhile, the correlation between the toxin gene profiles and the genetic background was not observed in this study. Although ST239-MRSA strains belonged to a single sequence type, they exhibited high degree of phenotypic and genotypic diversity indicating the weak clonality and adaptability. With such diversity, it is assumed that these strains may have undergone different evolutionary processes during transmission events among and/or within a single host or tissue niche.