Genetics of Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus Aureus

Abstract

Strains of Staphylococcus aureus that are resistant to multiple antimicrobial compounds, including most available classes of antibiotics and some antiseptics, are a major threat to patient care owing to their stubborn intransigence to chemotherapy and disinfection. This reality has stimulated extensive efforts to understand the genetic nature of the determinants encoding antimicrobial resistance, together with the mechanisms by which these determinants evolve over time and are spread within bacterial populations. Such studies have benefited from the application of molecular genetics and in recent years, the sequencing of over a dozen complete staphylococcal genomes. It is now evident that the evolution of multiresistance is driven by the acquisition of discrete preformed antimicrobial resistance genes that are exchanged between organisms via horizontal gene transfer. Nonetheless, chromosomal mutation is the catalyst of novel resistance determinants and is likely to have an enhanced influence with the ongoing introduction of synthetic antibiotics.

Prevalence of blaZ gene and other virulence genes in penicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis cases in Gansu, China

“…The activated blaZ could encode β-lactamase enzyme (penicillinase), which inactivates the antibiotic through hydrolysis of the peptide bond in the β-lactam ring (5). In this study, not all the penicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates exhibited genotypic resistance to penicillin, corresponding well to the findings of previous studies (12).…”

“…Resistance gene blaZ is responsible for resistance to penicillin (5). Currently, over 40 virulence-associated genes have been reported among various S. aureus strains (6).…”

Occurrence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in chickens and farm personnel in Sokoto, North-western Nigeria

“…These are one of the most prevalent bacteria in both human and animals (Persoons et al, 2009;Suleiman et al, 2013). Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens colonizing the skin and mucus membranes of the nares in human and animals incriminated in different disease conditions ranging from minor skin infections, such as furunclosis and carbunclosis to severe and highly debilitating conditions such as pneumonia and endocarditis (Jensen and Lyon, 2009). The pathogen is endowed with a great variety of virulence markers, which include both structural and secreted products participating in pathogenesis of infection (Plata et al, 2009).…”

Prevalence, risk factors and multidrug resistance profile of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine mastitis in selected dairy farms in and around Asella town, Arsi Zone, South Eastern Ethiopia

“…Staphylococcus aureus is a truly diverse pathogen which is capable of causing a wide variety of illnesses in both humans and animals (Jensen and Lyon, 2009). It is a common cause of mastitis in dairy cows (Virgin et al, 2009;Sharma et al, 2015); a primary reason for antibiotic use on farms (Groot and van't Hooft, 2016).…”