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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2005, p. 2070-2083, Vol. 49, No. 5
0066-4804/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.49.5.2070-2083.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Seven Novel Variants of the Staphylococcal Chromosomal Cassette mec in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Ireland

Microbiology Research Unit, Department of Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine and Pathology, School of Dental Science, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland,¹ National MRSA Reference Laboratory, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland,² Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom³

Received 20 September 2004/ Returned for modification 16 December 2004/ Accepted 28 December 2004

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered in Irish hospitals between 1971 and 2002 were characterized using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) (n = 130) and SCCmec typing (n = 172). Where atypical SCCmec typing results were obtained, PCR amplification of entire SCCmec elements, analysis of amplimer mobility, and nucleotide sequencing were undertaken. MLST revealed that 129/130 isolates had the same genotypes as internationally spread MRSA clones, including ST239, ST247, ST250, ST5, ST22, ST36, and ST8. A novel genotype, ST496, was identified in one isolate. Half of the isolates (86/172) had SCCmec type I, IA, II, III, or IV. The remaining 86 isolates harbored novel SCCmec variants in three distinct genetic backgrounds: (i) 74/86 had genotype ST8 and either one of five novel SCCmec II (IIA, IIB, IIC, IID, and IIE) or one of two novel SCCmec IV (IVE and IVF) variants; (ii) 3/86 had genotype ST239 and a novel SCCmec III variant; (iii) 9/86 had a novel SCCmec I variant associated with ST250. SCCmec IVE and IVF were similar to SCCmec IVc and IVb, respectively, but differed in the region downstream of mecA. The five SCCmec II variants were similar to SCCmec IVb in the region upstream of the ccr complex but otherwise were similar to SCCmec II, except for the following regions: SCCmec IIA and IID had a novel mec complex, A.4 (mecI-IS1182-mecI-mecR1-mecA-IS431mec); SCCmec IIC and IIE had a novel mec complex, A.3 (IS1182-mecI-mecR1-mecA-IS431mec); SCCmec IID and IIE lacked pUB110; SCCmec IIC and IIE lacked a region of DNA between Tn554 and the mec complex; and SCCmec IIB lacked Tn554. This study has demonstrated a hitherto-undescribed degree of diversity within SCCmec.

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