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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, March 2008, p. 837-845, Vol. 52, No. 3
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01001-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Novel Characteristics of Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Belonging to Multilocus Sequence Type 59 in Taiwan

Division of Bacteriology, Department of Infectious Disease Control and International Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan,¹ National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan²

Received 31 July 2007/ Returned for modification 31 October 2007/ Accepted 9 December 2007

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) strains, which often produce Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL), are increasingly noted worldwide. In this study, we examined 42 MRSA strains (25 PVL-positive [PVL⁺] strains and 17 PVL-negative [PVL^–] strains) isolated in Taiwan for their molecular characteristics. The PVL⁺ MRSA strains included CA-MRSA strains with multilocus sequence type (ST) 59 (major PVL⁺ MRSA in Taiwan), its variants, and worldwide CA-MRSA ST30 strains. The PVL^– MRSA strains included the pandemic Hungarian MRSA ST239 strain, the Hungarian MRSA ST239 variant, MRSA ST59 (largely hospital-acquired MRSA strains) and its variants, the pandemic New York/Japan MRSA ST5 strain (Japanese type), and the MRSA ST8 strain. The major PVL⁺ CA-MRSA ST59 strain possessed a tetracycline resistance-conferring (tetK positive) penicillinase plasmid and a drug resistance gene cluster (a possible composite transposon) for multidrug resistance. Moreover, it carried a novel staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) with two distinct ccrC genes (ccrC2-C8). This SCCmec (previously named SCCmec type V_T) was tentatively designated SCCmec type VII. Sequencing of the PVL genes revealed the polymorphisms, and the PVL⁺ CA-MRSA ST59 strain possessed the ST59-specific PVL gene sequence. The data suggest that a significant amount of clonal spread is occurring in Taiwan and that the major PVL⁺ CA-MRSA ST59_Taiwan strain exhibits unique genetic characteristics, such as a novel SCCmec type and an ST59-specific PVL gene sequence.

Published ahead of print on 17 December 2007.

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