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Resistance and virulence in Staphylococcus aureus by whole-genome sequencing: a comparative approach in blaZ-positive isolates

  • Veterinary Microbiology - Research Paper
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Abstract

Mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus is a worldwide problem in dairy farms, in part because of the pathogenicity of the bacteria, biofilm formation, and mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance that make the disease difficult to diagnose and treat, which is typically done with the use of beta-lactam antibiotics. The aim of the present study was to determine the virulence and resistance factors of S. aureus isolates from subclinical mastitis, blaZ + /mecA − /mecC − , resistant and sensitive to oxacillin. All isolates were classified as CC97 by MLST analysis, a clonal complex well adapted to the mammary gland and although STAU23 and STAU73 were resistant to oxacillin while STAU32 and STAU78 were sensitive, the genomic analysis identified only the blaZ operon corresponding to resistance to beta-lactams. However, the presence of the sdrC gene was revealed exclusively in resistant isolates, an important adhesin in the colonization process that potentiates pathogenicity in S. aureus. In addition, resistance islands (REIs) were identified in these isolates, suggesting more conserved REIs. In the analysis of SNPs throughout the genome, mutations were found in the trmB and smpB genes of the resistant isolates and in the murD and rimM genes of the sensitive isolates. This study highlights the potential benefit of genome-wide characterization tools to identify molecular mechanisms of S. aureus in bovine mastitis.

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Data availability

Data supporting the findings of this study are available upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out at the Laboratory of Microbiology and Animal Immunology, Laboratory of Genetics and Biotechnology, and the Multiuser Laboratory Open Access Center for Genomic Analysis (CALanGO) of the Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, located in the Agricultural Sciences Campus of UNIVASF in Petrolina-PE, Brazil. We also thank the Research Group on Microorganisms and Biotechnology Applied to Agriculture in the Semiarid Region for the equipment and reagents granted.

Funding

This study was funded by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior- CAPES.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Federal Do Vale Do São Francisco, Campus Ciências Agrárias, Rodovia Km 12, Lote 543, Projeto de Irrigação Nilo Coelho S/N, C1, Petrolina, PE, 56300-000, Brazil

    Gabriela Dias Rocha, João José de Simoni Gouveia, Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa, Riani Ananda Nunes Soares & Gisele Veneroni Gouveia

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  1. Gabriela Dias Rocha
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  2. João José de Simoni Gouveia
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Contributions

Gabriela Dias Rocha: data curation; formal analysis; methodology; validation; writing—review and editing; writing—original draft. João José de Simoni Gouveia: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing. Mateus Matiuzzi da Costa: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing. Riani Ananda Nunes Soares: writing—review and editing. Gisele Veneroni Gouveia: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Gisele Veneroni Gouveia.

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Rocha, G.D., de Simoni Gouveia, J.J., da Costa, M.M. et al. Resistance and virulence in Staphylococcus aureus by whole-genome sequencing: a comparative approach in blaZ-positive isolates. Braz J Microbiol 55, 955–967 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-023-01243-4

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