Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Development and Assessment of Intracellular Infection Models for Staphylococcus aureus
Published on: January 17, 2025
Mutations in agr do not persist in natural populations of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Bo Shopsin1, Christian Eaton, Gregory A Wasserman
1Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA. shopsin@saturn.med.nyu.edu
Abstract:
Staphylococcus aureus organisms vary in the function of the staphylococcal virulence regulator gene agr. To test for a relationship between agr and transmission in S. aureus, we determined the prevalence and genetic basis of agr dysfunction among nosocomial methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in an area of MRSA endemicity. Identical inactivating agr mutations were not detected in epidemiologically unlinked clones within or between hospitals. Additionally, most agr mutants had single mutations, indicating that they were short lived. Collectively, the results suggest that agr dysfunction is adaptive for survival in the infected host but that it may be counteradaptive outside infected host tissues.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanism of Antibiotic Resistance in MRSA
Mismatch Repair
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Clinical Significance of Antibiotic Resistance
Mutations in Microorganisms
Development of Antibiotic Resistance