Evolution and pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus: lessons learned from genotyping and comparative genomics

• Published in: FEMS microbiology reviews Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 23 - 37
• Main Authors: Feng, Ye, Chen, Chih-Jung, Su, Lin-Hui, Hu, Songnian, Yu, Jun, Chiu, Cheng-Hsun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2008; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Bacterial Proteins - physiology; Bacteriology; Bacteriophages; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; clonal complex; Community-Acquired Infections - microbiology; comparative genomics; Drug resistance; Evolution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Gene sequencing; Genome, Bacterial - genetics; Genomic Islands; Genotype; Genotyping; Homologous recombination; Homology; Humans; Leukocidin; Methicillin; Methicillin Resistance; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Multilocus sequence typing; Opportunist infection; Pathogenesis; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Penicillin; Phages; Recombination, Genetic; Species Specificity; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - pathogenicity; Staphylococcus infections; Strains (organisms); Trans-Activators - physiology; Virology; Virulence; Virulence factors; Virulence Factors - biosynthesis; Virulence Factors - physiology; methicillin-resistant; clonal complex; comparative genomics; genotype; Nosocomial infection; Typing; Pathogenesis; Genomics; Homologous recombination; Virulence; Genotype; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Identification; Review; Mechanism; Virus; Pathogenicity; Community acquired infection; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Micrococcaceae; Genome; Staphylococcus aureus; Phage
• ISSN: 0168-6445; 1574-6976; 1574-6976
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2007.00086.x

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and the major causative agent of numerous hospital- and community-acquired infections. Multilocus sequence typing reveals a highly clonal structure for S. aureus. Although infrequently occurring across clonal complexes, homologous recombination still contributed to the evolution of this species over the long term. agr-mediated bacterial interference has divided S. aureus into four groups, which are independent of clonality and provide another view on S. aureus evolution. Genome sequencing of nine S. aureus strains has helped identify a number of virulence factors, but the key determinants for infection are still unknown. Comparison of commensal and pathogenic strains shows no difference in diversity or clonal assignments. Thus, phage dynamics and global transcriptome shifts are considered to be responsible for the pathogenicity. Community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (C-MRSA) is characterized by a short SCCmec and the presence of a Panton-Valentine leukocidin locus, but no studies have proven their exact biologic roles in C-MRSA infection, indicating the existence of other mechanisms for the genesis of C-MRSA.