Comparison of protein A gene sequencing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and epidemiologic data for molecular typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: The epidemiologic relatedness of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates is currently determined by analysis of chromosomal DNA restriction patterns by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). We have evaluated an alternative typing system (MicroSeq StaphTrack Kit; Perkin-Elmer Biosystems) based on the sequence analysis of the chromosomally encoded polymorphic repeat X region of the S. aureus protein A (spa) gene. A total of 69 clinical MRSA isolates were divided into 18 groups according to the number and nucleotide sequences of the spa repeats. Molecular typing results obtained both by spa sequencing and from the PFGE patterns were concordant except for one group, which contained 20 isolates recovered over a 2-year period from hospitalized patients at the Mayo Clinic.

SUBMITTER: Tang YW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC86443 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature