AUTHOR=Montanaro Lucio , Ravaioli Stefano , Ruppitsch Werner , Campoccia Davide , Pietrocola Giampiero , Visai Livia , Speziale Pietro , Allerberger Franz , Arciola Carla Renata 

TITLE=Molecular Characterization of a Prevalent Ribocluster of Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus from Orthopedic Implant Infections. Correspondence with MLST CC30

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2016.00008

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2016.00008

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> is the leading etiologic agent of orthopedic implant infections. Here a ribocluster of 27 <italic>S. aureus</italic> strains underwent further molecular characterization and subtyping by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and <italic>spa</italic>-typing. This cluster had been detected by automated ribotyping (with the EcoRI restriction enzyme) of 200 <italic>S. aureus</italic> isolates from periprosthetic infections of patients who underwent revision at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute. The ribocluster, consisting of <italic>agr</italic> type III strains, with a 74% co-occurrence of bone sialoprotein-binding (<italic>bbp</italic>) and collagen-binding (<italic>cna</italic>) genes, lacked <italic>mecA</italic> and IS<italic>256</italic>, and exhibited a high prevalence of the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene (<italic>tst</italic>, 85%). Strains' relatedness was analyzed by BURP and eBURST. Two predominant <italic>spa</italic> types, t012 (32%) and t021 (36%), and one predominant sequence type, ST30 (18/27, 67%) were identified: a <italic>S. aureus</italic> lineage spread worldwide belonging to MLST CC30. Two new sequence types (ST2954, ST2960) and one new spa type (t13129) were detected for the first time. Interestingly, the 27-strain cluster detected by ribotyping corresponded exactly to MLST CC30, the sole CC identified by eBURST.</p>