Pathogenomic analysis of the common bovine Staphylococcus aureus clone (ET3): Emergence of a virulent subtype with potential risk to public health

Caitriona M. Guinane, Daniel E. Sturdevant, Lisa Herron-Olson, Michael Otto, Davida S. Smyth, Amer E. Villaruz, Vivek Kapur, Patrick J. Hartigan, Cyril J. Smyth, J. Ross Fitzgerald

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Abstract

A common clone (ET3) of Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for a large proportion of cases of bovine mastitis and occasionally causes zoonotic infections of humans. In the present study, we report the identification of a virulent clonal subtype (ST151) of ET3, which resulted in increased tissue damage and mortality in a mouse model of mastitis. ST151 has undergone extensive diversification in virulence and regulatory-gene content, including the acquisition of genetic elements encoding toxins not made by other ET3 strains. Furthermore, ST151 had elevated levels of RNAIII and cytolytic toxin- gene expression, consistent with the enhanced virulence observed during experimental infection. Previously, the ST151 clone was shown to be hypersusceptible to the acquisition of vancomycin-resistance genes from Enterococcus spp. Taken together, these data indicate the emergence of a virulent subtype of the common ET3 clone, which could present an enhanced risk to public health.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)205-213
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume197
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 15 2008

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Medicine

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