%0 Journal Article
%T PFGE diversity within the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clonal lineage ST398
%A Thijs Bosch
%A Albert J de Neeling
%A Leo M Schouls
%A Kim Zwaluw
%A Jan AJW Kluytmans
%A Hajo Grundmann
%A Xander W Huijsdens
%J BMC Microbiology
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2180-10-40
%X After optimizing and evaluating the Cfr9I PFGE, clear and reproducible banding patterns were obtained from all previously non-typeable MRSA (NTSmaI -MRSA) isolates. The PFGE patterns of ST398 isolates showed more diversity than with spa-typing and/or MLST. The PFGE results showed diversity within and between the two most prevalent spa-types of NTSmaI -MRSA (t011 and t108). No match was found, when comparing banding patterns of the NTSmaI -MRSA with 700 different PFGE types, obtained with SmaI digestion, in our database of more than 4000 strains. Furthermore, possible transmission among veterinarians and their family members was investigated and an outbreak of ST398 MRSA in a residential care facility was confirmed with the Cfr9I PFGE.The adjusted PFGE can be used as a method for selecting important and distinct ST398 isolates for further research. The adjustments in the PFGE protocol using Cfr9I are easy to implement to study the ST398 clonal lineage in laboratories which already have a PFGE facility.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of nosocomial and community-associated infections worldwide. Most cases of community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) have been associated with skin and soft-tissue infections in previously healthy individuals [1,2]. Since 2003, pigs [3-7] and other animals such as horses [8,9], poultry [10] and calves [11] have been identified as a new reservoir for CA-MRSA. Most of the livestock related MRSA strains share the same multi locus sequence typing (MLST) type, namely ST398. Throughout Europe [9,12-14], Canada [6] and in the United States [15] ST398 has been found in association with animal husbandry, indicating a worldwide clonal lineage. Although the clinical importance of ST398 is still controversial, there are reports indicating transmission and infections among humans [16-18]. Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) using SmaI is considered to be the gold standard for typing MRSA isolates [19]. When PFGE was p
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/10/40