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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus by Ribosomal Spacer PCR (RS-PCR)
Published on: November 4, 2016
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius isolates from different countries are clonal in nature
Ricardo de la Fuente1, Carmen Ballesteros, Verónica Bautista
1Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda Puerta de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain. rifuente@vet.ucm.es
Abscess disease in sheep and goats is caused by a single global clone of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius. Molecular analysis confirms this bacterial clone has a long history of host restriction in small ruminants.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Microbiology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
- Molecular Epidemiology
Background:
- Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius causes chronic abscess disease in sheep and goats, characterized by necrotic lesions.
- This microaerophilic, catalase-negative bacterium primarily affects superficial lymph nodes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genetic diversity and clonal origin of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius strains causing abscess disease.
- To determine if abscess disease is caused by a single bacterial clone globally.
Main Methods:
- Molecular typing techniques including pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and accessory gene regulator (agr) typing were employed.
- Analysis was performed on 94 S. aureus subsp. anaerobius strains isolated from Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Sudan.
Main Results:
- All 94 isolates belonged to a single pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) type, with four minor subtypes identified.
- All representative isolates shared the same sequence type (ST1464) and agr type II, irrespective of geographic origin or PFGE subtype.
- The bacterial clone has been in circulation for at least a century.
Conclusions:
- Abscess disease in small ruminants is caused by a single, globally distributed bacterial clone of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius.
- The findings suggest long-term host restriction of this bacterium within sheep and goat populations.
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