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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
Biosensor for Detection of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Bacteria
Published on: May 8, 2013
Development of a rapid strain differentiation method for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated in
1Department of Microbiology, Aichi Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Tsuji-machi, Kita-ku, Nagoya, Japan. masahiro_4_suzuki@pref.aichi.lg.jp
Aims:
To develop a rapid genotyping method for investigating outbreaks of methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in Japan.
Methods And Results:
Isolates were genotyped by detecting the keeping pattern of 16 open-reading frames (ORFs), a process we call phage ORF typing (POT). Thirteen of the ORFs were selected from phage genomes and one from a genomic island SaGIm in the genome of strain Mu50. The other two ORFs, one from Tn554 and one from staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type II, were used as strain markers. Three hundred and sixty-eight isolates from five hospitals were classified into 133 types by POT, whereas they were classified into 139 types by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) subtyping. The discriminatory power of POT (D=0.989) was equal to that of PFGE subtyping (D=0.986).
Conclusions:
MRSA isolates collected in Japan can be genotyped by detecting the keeping pattern of phage-derived ORFs with a discriminatory power equal to that of PFGE subtyping.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
MRSA isolates can be genotyped rapidly by detecting phage-derived ORFs. As particular pandemic clones can be found in a specific region, a typing method localized to a pandemic clone may be effective for the rapid genotyping of MRSA during outbreaks.
Insights
A new phage ORF typing (POT) method rapidly genotypes methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Japan. This method shows discriminatory power comparable to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), aiding outbreak investigations.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses a significant public health threat.
- Rapid and accurate genotyping is crucial for effective MRSA outbreak investigation and control.
- Existing methods like PFGE can be time-consuming.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a rapid genotyping method for MRSA isolates in Japan.
- To evaluate the efficacy of a novel phage ORF typing (POT) method.
Main Methods:
- Developed a genotyping method (POT) based on detecting the pattern of 16 open-reading frames (ORFs) from phage genomes, genomic islands, and mobile genetic elements.
- Applied POT to 368 MRSA isolates from five Japanese hospitals.
- Compared POT results with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) subtyping.
Main Results:
- POT classified 368 MRSA isolates into 133 types.
- PFGE subtyping classified the same isolates into 139 types.
- POT demonstrated a discriminatory power (D=0.989) equivalent to PFGE (D=0.986).
Conclusions:
- Phage ORF typing (POT) is a rapid and effective method for genotyping MRSA isolates in Japan.
- POT offers a discriminatory power comparable to PFGE, making it suitable for outbreak investigations.
- Localized typing methods targeting pandemic clones can enhance rapid MRSA genotyping during outbreaks.
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