Comparison of fingerprinting methods for typing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus sequence type 398

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Molecular Biology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sequence type 398 (ST398) is a significant pathogen.
• Accurate molecular typing methods are crucial for tracking MRSA ST398 outbreaks.
• Previous characterization included multilocus sequence typing, spa typing, and SCCmec typing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of MLVA and PFGE for fingerprinting MRSA ST398 isolates.
• To compare the typeability, discriminatory power, and concordance of MLVA and PFGE with existing typing methods.
• To determine the optimal method for MRSA ST398 strain differentiation.

Main Methods:

• Fingerprinting of MRSA ST398 isolates using MLVA.
• PFGE analysis with restriction enzymes BstZI, SacII, and ApaI.
• Comparison of MLVA and PFGE results with multilocus sequence typing, spa typing, and SCCmec typing data.

Main Results:

• Both MLVA and PFGE successfully typed all MRSA ST398 isolates.
• PFGE exhibited the highest discriminatory power, followed by MLVA, spa typing, and SCCmec typing.
• High concordance was observed between MLVA and PFGE (ApaI), and MLVA and spa typing.

Conclusions:

• Both MLVA and PFGE are effective for discriminating MRSA ST398 isolates.
• PFGE offers greater discriminatory power, particularly when using multiple restriction enzymes.
• MLVA is a faster alternative, while PFGE provides more detailed strain differentiation for MRSA ST398.