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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2001, p. 1323-1336, Vol. 45, No. 5
0066-4804/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AAC.45.5.1323-1336.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Structural Comparison of Three Types of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec Integrated in the Chromosome in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Teruyo Ito, Yuki Katayama, Kazumi Asada, Namiko Mori, Kanae Tsutsumimoto, Chuntima Tiensasitorn, and Keiichi Hiramatsu*

Department of Bacteriology, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan

Received 19 September 2000/Returned for modification 26 December 2000/Accepted 9 February 2001

The beta -lactam resistance gene mecA of Staphylococcus aureus is carried by a novel mobile genetic element, designated staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), identified in the chromosome of a Japanese methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain. We now report identification of two additional types of mecA-carrying genetic elements found in the MRSA strains isolated in other countries of the world. There were substantial differences in the size and nucleotide sequences between the elements and the SCCmec. However, new elements shared the chromosomal integration site with the SCCmec. Structural analysis of the new elements revealed that they possessed all of the salient features of the SCCmec: conserved terminal inverted repeats and direct repeats at the integration junction points, conserved genetic organization around the mecA gene, and the presence of cassette chromosome recombinase (ccr) genes responsible for the movements of SCCmec. The elements, therefore, were considered to comprise the SCCmec family of staphylococcal mobile genetic elements together with the previously identified SCCmec. Among 38 epidemic MRSA strains isolated in 20 countries, 34 were shown to possess one of the three typical SCCmec elements on the chromosome. Our findings indicated that there are at least three distinct MRSA clones in the world with different types of SCCmec in their chromosome.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Bacteriology, Juntendo University, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan. Phone: 81-3-5802-1040. Fax: 81-3-5684-7830. E-mail: hiram{at}med.juntendo.ac.jp.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2001, p. 1323-1336, Vol. 45, No. 5
0066-4804/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AAC.45.5.1323-1336.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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