Genome Evolution of Invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Americas.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of debilitating and life-threatening diseases, and thus remains a challenging global health threat. S. aureus is remarkably diverse, yet only a minority of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clones have caused pandemic proportions of diseases. The genetic drivers of the successful dissemination of some clones across wide geographical expanses remain poorly understood. We analyzed 386 recently published MRSA genomes from bloodstream infections sampled in North, Central, and South America from 2011 to 2018. Here, we show that MRSA-associated bloodstream infections were attributable to two genetically distinct lineages. One lineage consisted almost exclusively of sequence type (ST) 8, which emerged in 1964. A second lineage emerged in 1986 and consis

SUBMITTER: Smith JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9241880 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature