Molecular tracing of the emergence, diversification, and transmission of S. aureus sequence type 8 in a New York community.

ABSTRACT: During the last 2 decades, community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) strains have dramatically increased the global burden of S. aureus infections. The pandemic sequence type (ST)8/pulsed-field gel type USA300 is the dominant CA-MRSA clone in the United States, but its evolutionary history and basis for biological success are incompletely understood. Here, we use whole-genome sequencing of 387 ST8 isolates drawn from an epidemiological network of CA-MRSA infections and colonizations in northern Manhattan to explore short-term evolution and transmission patterns. Phylogenetic analysis predicted that USA300 diverged from a most common recent ancestor around 1993. We found evidence for multiple introductions of USA300 and reconstructed the phylogeographic spre

SUBMITTER: Uhlemann AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4020051 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature