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Journal of Bacteriology, October 2008, p. 6302-6317, Vol. 190, No. 19
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01984-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Ruminant Staphylococcus aureus Reveals Diversification of the Core Genome{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Nouri L. Ben Zakour,1,2,3 Daniel E. Sturdevant,4 Sergine Even,1,2 Caitriona M. Guinane,3 Corinne Barbey,1,2,{ddagger} Priscila D. Alves,1,2 Marie-Françoise Cochet,1,2 Michel Gautier,1,2 Michael Otto,5 J. Ross Fitzgerald,3 and Yves Le Loir1,2*

INRA, UMR1253 STLO, F-35000 Rennes, France,1 Agrocampus Rennes, UMR1253, F-35000 Rennes, France,2 Centre for Infectious Diseases, The Chancellor's Building, New Royal Infirmary, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, Scotland, United Kingdom,3 Research Technologies Branch, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840,4 Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The National Institute of Health, Hamilton, Montana 598405

Received 21 December 2007/ Accepted 9 June 2008

Staphylococcus aureus causes disease in humans and a wide array of animals. Of note, S. aureus mastitis of ruminants, including cows, sheep, and goats, results in major economic losses worldwide. Extensive variation in genome content exists among S. aureus pathogenic clones. However, the genomic variation among S. aureus strains infecting different animal species has not been well examined. To investigate variation in the genome content of human and ruminant S. aureus, we carried out whole-genome PCR scanning (WGPS), comparative genomic hybridizations (CGH), and the directed DNA sequence analysis of strains of human, bovine, ovine, and caprine origin. Extensive variation in genome content was discovered, including host- and ruminant-specific genetic loci. Ovine and caprine strains were genetically allied, whereas bovine strains were heterogeneous in gene content. As expected, mobile genetic elements such as pathogenicity islands and bacteriophages contributed to the variation in genome content between strains. However, differences specific for ruminant strains were restricted to regions of the conserved core genome, which contained allelic variation in genes encoding proteins of known and unknown function. Many of these proteins are predicted to be exported and could play a role in host-pathogen interactions. The genomic regions of difference identified by the whole-genome approaches adopted in the current study represent excellent targets for studies of the molecular basis of S. aureus host adaptation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Equipe PSEL, UMR1253 STLO INRA Agrocampus Rennes, 65 rue de Saint Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes cedex, France. Phone: 33 (0) 2 23 48 59 04. Fax: 33 (0) 2 23 48 59 02. E-mail: Yves.LeLoir{at}rennes.inra.fr

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 20 June 2008.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

{ddagger} Present address: Laboratoire D'Études et de Recherche en Pathologie Équine, AFSSA, Site de Dozulé, Service Bactériologie-Immunologie, Route de Goustranville, 14430 Dozulé, France.

Journal of Bacteriology, October 2008, p. 6302-6317, Vol. 190, No. 19
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01984-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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