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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2008, p. 1276-1283, Vol. 190, No. 4
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01128-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Gene Acquisition at the Insertion Site for SCCmec, the Genomic Island Conferring Methicillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus{triangledown}

Michael J. Noto,1 Barry N. Kreiswirth,2 Alastair B. Monk,1 and Gordon L. Archer1*

Departments of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 1101 East Marshall Street, Richmond, Virginia 23298,1 Public Health Research Institute, 225 Warren Street, Newark, New Jersey 071032

Received 17 July 2007/ Accepted 17 November 2007

Staphylococcus aureus becomes resistant to methicillin by acquiring a genomic island, known as staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec), which contains the methicillin resistance determinant, mecA. SCCmec is site-specifically integrated into the staphylococcal chromosome at a locus known as the SCCmec attachment site (attB). In an effort to gain a better understanding of the potential that methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) isolates have for acquiring SCCmec, the nucleotide sequences of attB and surrounding DNA regions were examined in a diverse collection of 42 MSSA isolates. The chromosomal region surrounding attB varied among the isolates studied and appears to be a common insertion point for acquired foreign DNA. Insertions of up to 15.1 kb were found containing open reading frames with homology to enterotoxin genes, restriction-modification systems, transposases, and several sequences that have not been previously described in staphylococci. Two groups, containing eight and four isolates, had sequences found in known SCCmec elements, suggesting SCCmec elements may have evolved through repeated DNA insertions at this locus. In addition, the attB sequences of the majority of MSSA isolates in this collection differ from the attB sequences of strains for which integrase-mediated SCCmec insertion or excision has been demonstrated, suggesting that some S. aureus isolates may lack the ability to site-specifically integrate SCCmec into their chromosomes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Virginia Commonwealth School of Medicine, 1101 East Marshall St., Sanger Hall Room 1-018, Richmond, VA 23298-00565. Phone: (804) 828-0673. Fax: (804) 828-5022. E-mail: garcher{at}vcu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 14 December 2007.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2008, p. 1276-1283, Vol. 190, No. 4
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01128-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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