Comparison of single- and multilocus sequence typing and toxin gene profiling for characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Molecular characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from food surveillance in southwest China

BACKGROUND

Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) is one of the most common food-borne diseases in the world. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing methods were used to characterize Staphylococcus aureus isolates from food surveillance during 2013-2015 in southwest China, and Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing was used for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Isolates were also examined for their antibiotic resistance and carriage of virulence genes.

RESULTS

Isolation rate of S. aureus was 2.60% during the three years' surveillance and 29.50% of them were MRSA. All the S. aureus had hla genes (100%), 14.34% of the strains had tst, and 16.73% had PVL. 163 PFGE-SmaI patterns, 41 ST types and 36 spa types were obtained for all the S. aureus. Among them, ST6-t701 (13.15%), ST7-t091 (12.75%), ST59-t437 (9.96%) and ST5-t002 (7.57%) were the prevalent genotypes. Most of MRSA in this study belonged to SCCmec IV and V, accounted for 74.32% and 20.27% respectively. ST6-SCCmec IV-t701 (36.50%) was the most prevalent clone among isolates from food, followed by ST59-SCCmec V-t437 (20.30%), ST5-SCCmec IV-t002 (12.20%) and ST59-SCCmec IV-t437 (12.20%). Some strains had the identical PFGE patterns, ST and spa types with isolates from patients.

CONCLUSIONS

S. aureus isolated from food in southwest China displayed heterogeneity. Isolates had the same genotype profiles with isolates from patients, indicating high homology.

Distribution of the Most Prevalent Spa Types among Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus around the World: A Review

Background:Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of community-acquired and nosocomial infections, remains a major health problem worldwide. Molecular typing methods, such as spa typing, are vital for the control and, when typing can be made more timely, prevention of S. aureus spread around healthcare settings. The current study aims to review the literature to report the most common clinical spa types around the world, which is important for epidemiological surveys and nosocomial infection control policies.

Methods: A search via PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane library, and Scopus was conducted for original articles reporting the most prevalent spa types among S. aureus isolates. The search terms were “Staphylococcus aureus, spa typing.”

Results: The most prevalent spa types were t032, t008 and t002 in Europe; t037 and t002 in Asia; t008, t002, and t242 in America; t037, t084, and t064 in Africa; and t020 in Australia. In Europe, all the isolates related to spa type t032 were MRSA. In addition, spa type t037 in Africa and t037and t437 in Australia also consisted exclusively of MRSA isolates. Given the fact that more than 95% of the papers we studied originated in the past decade there was no option to study the dynamics of regional clone emergence.

Conclusion: This review documents the presence of the most prevalent spa types in countries, continents and worldwide and shows big local differences in clonal distribution.

Passive therapy with humanized anti-staphylococcal enterotoxin B antibodies attenuates systemic inflammatory response and protects from lethal pneumonia caused by staphylococcal enterotoxin B-producing Staphylococcus aureus

Drugs such as linezolid that inhibit bacterial protein synthesis may be beneficial in treating infections caused by toxigenic Staphylococcus aureus. As protein synthesis inhibitors have no effect on preformed toxins, neutralization of pathogenic exotoxins with anti-toxin antibodies may be beneficial in conjunction with antibacterial therapy. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of human-mouse chimeric high-affinity neutralizing anti-staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) antibodies in the treatment of experimental pneumonia caused by SEB-producing S. aureus. Since HLA class II transgenic mice mount a stronger systemic immune response following challenge with SEB and are more susceptible to SEB-induced lethal toxic shock than conventional mice strains, HLA-DR3 transgenic mice were used. Lethal pneumonia caused by SEB-producing S. aureus in HLA-DR3 transgenic mice was characterized by robust T cell activation and elevated systemic levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Prophylactic administration of a single dose of linezolid 30 min prior to the onset of infection attenuated the systemic inflammatory response and protected from mortality whereas linezolid administered 60 min after the onset of infection failed to confer significant protection. Human-mouse chimeric high-affinity neutralizing anti-SEB antibodies alone, but not polyclonal human IgG, mitigated this response and protected from death when administered immediately after initiation of infection. Further, anti-SEB antibodies as well as intact polyclonal human IgG, but not its Fab or Fc fragments, protected from lethal pneumonia when followed with linezolid therapy 60 min later. In conclusion, neutralization of superantigens with high-affinity antibodies may have beneficial effects in pneumonia.

Investigating genome reduction of Bordetella pertussis using a multiplex PCR-based reverse line blot assay (mPCR/RLB)

Background

The genetic composition of the bacterium causing whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, has been investigated using microarray studies in order to examine potential genetic contributors to the disease re-emergence in the past decade. Regions of difference (RDs) have been previously identified as clusters of genes flanked by insertion sequences which are variably present in different sets of isolates, and have also been shown to be potential markers of B. pertussis evolution.

This study used microarray data to identify and select a panel of RDs; primers and probes for these RDs were then designed to test for the presence or absence of these regions in a novel and less expensive multiplex PCR-based reverse line blot (mPCR/RLB) assay. By comparing the presence or absence of RDs, we aimed to determine the genomic variability of a diverse collection of B. pertussis strains and how they have changed over time.

Results

A B. pertussis specific mPCR/RLB using 43 genes representing 30 RDs, was developed and used to characterise a set of 42 B. pertussis isolates. When mapped against the previously identified evolutionary relationships of the strains, the losses of two RDs - BP0910A - BP00930 and BP1948-BP1962 - were found to be associated with significant events in B. pertussis history: the loss of BP0910A - BP00930 coincided with introduction of whole cell vaccines in the 1950s while that of BP1948-BP1962 occurred after the introduction of acellular vaccines. The loss of BP1948-BP1962 also coincided with expansion of the most recent B. pertussis strains.

Conclusions

The mPCR/RLB assay offers an inexpensive and fast method of determining the gene content of B. pertussis strains and also confirms that gene losses are an ongoing feature of B. pertussis evolution.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1756-0500-7-727) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Characterization of TEM-1 β-Lactamase-Producing Kingella kingae Clinical Isolates

Kingella kingae is a human pathogen that causes pediatric osteoarticular infections and infective endocarditis in children and adults. The bacterium is usually susceptible to β-lactam antibiotics, although β-lactam resistance has been reported in rare isolates. This study was conducted to identify β-lactam-resistant strains and to characterize the resistance mechanism. Screening of a set of 90 K. kingae clinical isolates obtained from different geographic locations revealed high-level resistance to penicillins among 25% of the strains isolated from Minnesota and Iceland. These strains produced TEM-1 β-lactamase and were shown to contain additional ≥50-kb plasmids. Ion Torrent sequencing of extrachromosomal DNA from a β-lactamase-producing strain confirmed the plasmid location of the bla_TEM gene. An identical plasmid pattern was demonstrated by multiplex PCR in all β-lactamase producers. The porin gene's fragments were analyzed to investigate the relatedness of bacterial strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 27 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the por gene fragment, resulting in two major clusters with 11 allele types forming bacterial-strain subclusters. β-Lactamase producers were grouped together based on por genotyping. Our results suggest that the β-lactamase-producing strains likely originate from a single plasmid-bearing K. kingae isolate that traveled from Europe to the United States, or vice versa. This study highlights the prevalence of penicillin resistance among K. kingae strains in some regions and emphasizes the importance of surveillance for antibiotic resistance of the pathogen.

Software for selecting the most informative sets of genomic loci for multi-target microbial typing

Background

High-throughput sequencing can identify numerous potential genomic targets for microbial strain typing, but identification of the most informative combinations requires the use of computational screening tools. This paper describes novel software – Automated Selection of Typing Target Subsets (AuSeTTS) - that allows intelligent selection of optimal targets for pathogen strain typing. The objective of this software is to maximise both discriminatory power, using Simpson’s index of diversity (D), and concordance with existing typing methods, using the adjusted Wallace coefficient (AW). The program interrogates molecular typing results for panels of isolates, based on large target sets, and iteratively examines each target, one-by-one, to determine the most informative subset.

Results

AuSeTTS was evaluated using three target sets: 51 binary targets (13 toxin genes, 16 phage-related loci and 22 SCCmec elements), used for multilocus typing of 153 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates; 17 MLVA loci in 502 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from the MLVA database (http://www.mlva.eu) and 12 MLST loci for 98 Cryptococcus spp. isolates.

The maximum D for MRSA, 0.984, was achieved with a subset of 20 targets and a D value of 0.954 with 7 targets. Twelve targets predicted MLST with a maximum AW of 0.9994. All 17 S. pneumoniae MLVA targets were required to achieve maximum D of 0.997, but 4 targets reached D of 0.990. Twelve targets predicted pneumococcal serotype with a maximum AW of 0.899 and 9 predicted MLST with maximum AW of 0.963. Eight of the 12 MLST loci were sufficient to achieve the maximum D of 0.963 for Cryptococcus spp.

Conclusions

Computerised analysis with AuSeTTS allows rapid selection of the most discriminatory targets for incorporation into typing schemes. Output of the program is presented in both tabular and graphical formats and the software is available for free download from http://www.cidmpublichealth.org/pages/ausetts.html.

Clonally related methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), human volunteers, and a bayfront cetacean rehabilitation facility

In May of 2011, a live mass stranding of 26 short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) occurred in the lower Florida Keys. Five surviving whales were transferred from the original stranding site to a nearby marine mammal rehabilitation facility where they were constantly attended to by a team of volunteers. Bacteria cultured during the routine clinical care of the whales and necropsy of a deceased whale included methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA). In order to investigate potential sources or reservoirs of MSSA and MRSA, samples were obtained from human volunteers, whales, seawater, and sand from multiple sites at the facility, nearby recreational beaches, and a canal. Samples were collected on 3 days. The second collection day was 2 weeks after the first, and the third collection day was 2 months after the last animal was removed from the facility. MRSA and MSSA were isolated on each day from the facility when animals and volunteers were present. MSSA was found at an adjacent beach on all three collection days. Isolates were characterized by utilizing a combination of quantitative real-time PCR to determine the presence of mecA and genes associated with virulence, staphylococcal protein A typing, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing, multilocus sequence typing, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Using these methods, clonally related MRSA were isolated from multiple environmental locations as well as from humans and animals. Non-identical but genetically similar MSSA and MRSA were also identified from distinct sources within this sample pool. PFGE indicated that the majority of MRSA isolates were clonally related to the prototype human strain USA300. These studies support the notion that S. aureus may be shed into an environment by humans or pilot whales and subsequently colonize or infect exposed new hosts.

Prospective genotyping of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates by use of a novel, highly discriminatory binary typing system

In settings of high methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) prevalence, detection of nosocomial transmission events can be difficult without strain typing. Prospective typing of all MRSA isolates could potentially identify transmission in a timely fashion, making infection control responses to outbreaks more effective. We describe the development and evaluation of a novel 19-target binary typing system for MRSA using the multiplex-PCR/reverse line blot hybridization platform. Pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), spa typing, and phage-derived open reading frame (PDORF) typing were performed for comparison. The system was utilized to identify transmission events in three general surgical wards over a 12-month period. Initial MRSA isolates from 273 patients were differentiated into 55 unique binary types. One or more potential contacts colonized with the same MRSA strain were identified in 69 of 87 cases (79%) in which definite or possible nosocomial MRSA acquisition had occurred. The discriminatory power of the typing system was similar to that of PFGE (Simpson's index of diversity [D] = 0.994, versus 0.987) and higher than that of spa typing (D = 0.926). Strain typing reduced the total number of potential MRSA-colonized source contacts from 859 to 212 and revealed temporal clustering of transmission events. Prospective MRSA typing using this novel binary typing method can rapidly identify nosocomial transmission events, even in high-prevalence settings, which allows timely infection control interventions. The system is rapid, inexpensive, discriminatory, and suitable for routine, high-throughput use in the hospital microbiology laboratory.

Quantitative estimation of the stability of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain-typing systems by use of Kaplan-Meier survival analysis

Knowledge concerning stability is important in the development and assessment of microbial molecular typing systems and is critical for the interpretation of their results. Typing system stability is usually measured as the fraction of isolates that change type after several in vivo passages, but this does not necessarily reflect in vivo stability. The aim of this study was to utilize survival analysis to provide an informative quantitative measure of in vivo stability and to compare the stabilities of various techniques employed in typing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We identified 100 MRSA pairs (isolated from the same patient ≥ 1 month apart) and typed them using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), phage-derived open reading frame (PDORF) typing, toxin gene profiling (TGP), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) subtyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and spa sequence typing. Discordant isolate pairs, belonging to different MLST clonal complexes, were excluded, leaving 81 pairs for analysis. The stabilities of these methods were examined using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and discriminatory power was measured by Simpson's index of diversity. The probability percentages that the type remained unchanged at 6 months for spa sequence typing, TGP, multilocus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA), SCCmec subtyping, PDORF typing, and PFGE were 95, 95, 88, 82, 71, and 58, respectively, while the Simpson's indices of diversity were 0.48, 0.47, 0.70, 0.72, 0.89, and 0.88, respectively. Survival analysis using sequential clinical isolates adds an important quantitative dimension to the measurement of stability of a microbial typing system. Of the methods compared here, PDORF typing provides high discriminatory power, comparable with that of PFGE, and a level of stability suitable for MRSA surveillance and outbreak investigations.

Typing of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a technical review

Increasing prevalence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) worldwide is a growing public health concern. MRSA typing is an essential component of an effective surveillance system to describe epidemiological trends and infection control strategies. Current challenges for MRSA typing are focused on selecting the most appropriate technique in terms of efficiency, reliability, ease of performance and cost involved. This review summarises the available information on application, potential and problems of various typing techniques in discriminating the strains and understanding the epidemiology of MRSA strains. The phenotypic methods in general are easier to perform, easier to interpret, cost effective and are widely available, however less discriminatory. The genotypic methods are expensive and technically demanding, however more discriminatory. Newer technologies involving sequencing of various genes are coming up as broadly applicable and high throughput typing systems. Still there is no consensus regarding the single best method for typing of MRSA strains. Phage typing is recommended as first line approach in epidemiological investigation of MRSA strains. PFGE remains the gold standard for characterisation of outbreak strains. DNA sequencing methods including MLST, spa typing, SCCmec typing and toxin gene profile typing are more practical methods for detecting evolutionary changes and transmission events. The choice of typing technique further depends on the purpose of the study, the facilities available and the utility of data generated to answer a desirable research question. A need for harmonisation of typing techniques by following standard protocols is emphasised to establish surveillance networks and facilitate global MRSA control.

Multiplex PCR and reverse line blot hybridization assay (mPCR/RLB)

Multiplex PCR/Reverse Line Blot Hybridization assay allows the detection of up to 43 molecular targets in 43 samples using one multiplex PCR reaction followed by probe hybridization on a nylon membrane, which is re-usable. Probes are 5' amine modified to allow fixation to the membrane. Primers are 5' biotin modified which allows detection of hybridized PCR products using streptavidin-peroxidase and a chemiluminescent substrate via photosensitive film. With low setup and consumable costs, this technique is inexpensive (approximately US$2 per sample), high throughput (multiple membranes can be processed simultaneously) and has a short turnaround time (approximately 10 hours). The technique can be utilized in a number of ways. Multiple probes can be designed to detect sequence variation within a single amplified product, or multiple products can be amplified simultaneously, with one (or more) probes used for subsequent detection. A combination of both approaches can also be used within a single assay. The ability to include multiple probes for a single target sequence makes the assay highly specific. Published applications of mPCR/RLB include detection of antibiotic resistance genes(1,2), typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(3-5) and Salmonella sp(6), molecular serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae(7,8), Streptococcus agalactiae(9) and enteroviruses(10,11), identification of Mycobacterium sp(12), detection of genital(13-15) and respiratory tract(16) and other(17) pathogens and detection and identification of mollicutes(18). However, the versatility of the technique means the applications are virtually limitless and not restricted to molecular analysis of micro-organisms. The five steps in mPCR/RLB are a) Primer and Probe design, b) DNA extraction and PCR amplification c) Preparation of the membrane, d) Hybridization and detection, and e) Regeneration of the Membrane.

Unexpected diversity of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains

Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) is a large mobile genetic element which is used frequently for subtyping of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. MRSA SCCmec type IV not only predominates among community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains but also is associated with several genetic lineages of hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) and with other species. The objective of this study was to investigate the diversity of MRSA strains classified as SCCmec type IV by using a multiplex PCR-based reverse line blot (mPCR/RLB) hybridization assay as well as spa typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Sixty-two primer pairs and 63 probes were designed to interrogate each open reading frame (ORF) of SCCmec type IV sequences. A set of 131 MRSA SCCmec type IV isolates were classified into 79 subtypes by this method. There was considerable concordance between SCCmec type IV subtyping, spa typing, and PFGE patterns for clinical isolates, and the stability of SCCmec type IV subtyping was comparable to that of the other two methods. Using an in-house computer program, we showed that a subset of 20 genetic markers could achieve the same level of discrimination between isolates as the full set of 62, with a Simpson's index of diversity of 0.975. SCCmec type IV has a much higher level of diversity than previously suggested. The application of the mPCR/RLB hybridization assay to MRSA SCCmec type IV subtyping can improve the discriminatory power and throughput of MRSA typing and has the potential to enhance rapid infection control surveillance and outbreak detection.

Rapid identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus transmission in hospitals by use of phage-derived open reading frame typing enhanced by multiplex PCR and reverse line blot assay

The relatively high-level clonality of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its frequent high-level endemicity in nosocomial settings complicate the development of methods for rapid subtyping of MRSA strains that are capable of identifying person-to-person transmission in hospitals. Phage-derived open reading frame (PDORF) typing is an MRSA typing method targeting mobile genetic elements that was recently described and evaluated using a geographically restricted set of isolates. The objective of this study was to develop a multiplex PCR-reverse line blot (mPCR/RLB) assay for PDORF typing and to test its applicability on a broad range of isolates and in an environment where MRSA is highly endemic. The 16 targets were identified using a 23-primer-pair mPCR/RLB assay with two probes for each target. The method was evaluated using 42 MRSA reference strains, including those representing major international clones, and 35 isolates from episodes of suspected nosocomial transmission. In vivo stability was explored using 81 isolate pairs. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and spa typing were performed for comparison. Among the 42 reference strains, there were 33 PFGE subtypes, 30 PDORF types, and 22 spa types. Simpson's index of diversity was 0.987, 0.971, and 0.926 for PFGE subtyping, PDORF typing, and spa typing, respectively. Typing of clinical isolates by PDORF typing and PFGE demonstrated concordant results. mPCR/RLB-based PDORF typing has similar discriminatory power to that of PFGE, can assist in tracking MRSA transmission events in a setting of high-level endemicity, and has the advantage of being a high-throughput technique.

A new multiplex PCR-based reverse line-blot hybridization (mPCR/RLB) assay for rapid staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing

The aim of this study was to develop a new discriminatory method for MRSA SCCmec typing based on multiplex PCR-based reverse line-blot hybridization (mPCR/RLB) assay to enable rapid identification and classification of MRSA SCCmec types in a clinical laboratory. Forty-five primer sets and 49 probes were designed and tested in uniplex PCR (uPCR) and mPCR/RLB. Probes were compared in silico to 14 whole-genome sequences and 18 partial SCCmec gene sequences of Staphylococcus aureus and complete genome and partial SCCmec genes of seven non-MRSA strains, including meticillin-susceptible S. aureus and meticillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci. The method was tested on a set of 42 well-characterized reference MRSA strains. It identified all five epidemiologically relevant SCCmec types and 26 subtypes, including established and new subtypes of SCCmec III, IV (eight subtypes each) and V (three subtypes). The discriminatory power of mPCR/RLB SCCmec typing was similar to that of MLST and spa typing (Simpson indices of diversity of 0.916, 0.926 and 0.882, respectively; differences not statistically significant). The application of mPCR/RLB hybridization assay to MRSA SCCmec typing can improve the specificity, discriminatory power and throughput of the typing procedure. The detection of up to 43 mPCR products in a single hybridization assay transforms MRSA SCCmec typing from passive epidemiological library typing into a potential tool for near-real-time infection control surveillance and tracking of MRSA transmission in hospitals.

Multiplexed genotyping of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates by use of padlock probes and tag microarrays

We developed and tested a ligase-based assay for simultaneous probing of core genome diversity and typing of methicillin resistance determinants in Staphylococcus aureus isolates. This assay uses oligonucleotide padlock probes whose two ends are joined through ligation when they hybridize to matching target DNA. Circularized probes are subsequently amplified by PCR with common primers and analyzed by using a microarray equipped with universal tag probes. Our set of padlock probes includes oligonucleotides targeting diagnostic regions in the mecA, ccrB, and ccrC genes of the SCCmec cassette in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). These probes determine the presence and type of SCCmec cassettes (i.e., SCCmec types I to VI). Additional oligonucleotides interrogate a number of highly informative single nucleotide polymorphisms retrieved from a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) database. These latter probes enable the exploration of isolates' phylogenetic affiliation with clonal lineages of MRSA as revealed by MLST. The described assay enables multiplexed genotyping of MRSA based on a single-tube reaction. With a set of clinical isolates of MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (n=66), 100% typeability and 100% accuracy were achieved. The assay described here provides valuable genotypic information that may usefully complement existing genotyping procedures. Moreover, the assay is easily extendable by incorporating additional padlock probes and will be valuable for the quick and cost-effective probing of large numbers of polymorphisms at different genomic locations, such as those ascertained through currently ongoing mutation discovery and genome resequencing projects.