Prevalence of Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Resistance Determinants and Virulence-Related Genetic Elements in Plasmids of Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: The use of antibiotics on a mass scale, particularly in farming, and their release into the environment has led to a rapid emergence of resistant bacteria. Once emerged, resistance determinants are spread by horizontal gene transfer among strains of the same as well as disparate bacterial species. Their accumulation in free-living as well as livestock and community-associated strains results in the widespread multiple-drug resistance among clinically relevant species posing an increasingly pressing problem in healthcare. One of these clinically relevant species is Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of hospital and community outbreaks. Among the rich diversity of mobile genetic elements regularly occurring in S. aureus such as phages, pathogenicity islands, and staphylococc

SUBMITTER: Bukowski M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6491766 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature