Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) Analysis of MRSA

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2069))

Abstract

Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus changes to methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) upon the acquisition of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), a genomic island that encodes methicillin resistance. SCCmec elements in S. aureus are classified into different types based on the combination of mec gene complexes and ccr gene complexes, which share variations, five classes in mec and eight in ccr. To date, at least 13 types of SCCmec elements have been identified and each SCCmec type has individual characteristics. It is known that hospital-associated MRSA strains carry SCCmec elements of types, I, II, and III, and the majority of community-acquired MRSA strains carry characteristic SCCmec elements, type IV SCCmec or type V SCCmec. We herein describe multiplex PCR methods to type SCCmec elements by identifying the mec gene complex class and ccr gene complex type.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Ito T, Kuwahara-Arai K, Katayama Y, Uehara Y, Han X, Kondo Y, Hiramatsu K (2014) Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) analysis of MRSA. Methods Mol Biol 1085:131–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ito T, Katayama Y, Hiramatsu K (1999) Cloning and nucleotide sequence determination of the entire mec DNA of pre-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus N315. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 43(6):1449–1458

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Katayama Y, Ito T, Hiramatsu K (2000) A new class of genetic element, staphylococcus cassette chromosome mec, encodes methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 44(6):1549–1555

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. International Working Group on the Classification of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome Elements IWG (2009) Classification of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec): guidelines for reporting novel SCCmec elements. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 53(12):4961–4967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ito T, Katayama Y, Asada K, Mori N, Tsutsumimoto K, Tiensasitorn C et al (2001) Structural comparison of three types of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec integrated in the chromosome in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 45(5):1323–1336

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Ma XX, Ito T, Tiensasitorn C, Jamklang M, Chongtrakool P, Boyle-Vavra S (2002) Novel type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec identified in community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46(4):1147–1152

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Ito T, Ma XX, Takeuchi F, Okuma K, Yuzawa H, Hiramatsu K (2004) Novel type V staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec driven by a novel cassette chromosome recombinase, ccrC. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 48(7):2637–2651

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Oliveira DC, Milheirico C, de Lencastre H (2006) Redefining a structural variant of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec, SCCmec type VI. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 50(10):3457–3459

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Berglund C, Ito T, Ikeda M, Ma XX, Soderquist B, Hiramatsu K (2008) Novel type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated in Sweden. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 52(10):3512–3516

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Zhang K, McClure JA, Elsayed S, Conly JM (2009) Novel staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type, tentatively designated type VIII, harboring class A mec and type 4 ccr gene complexes in a Canadian epidemic strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 53(2):531–540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Li S, Skov RL, Han X, Larsen AR, Larsen J, Sorum M et al (2011) Novel types of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec elements identified in clonal complex 398 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 55(6):3046–3050

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Garcia-Alvarez L, Holden MT, Lindsay H, Webb CR, Brown DF, Curran MD et al (2011) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a novel mecA homologue in human and bovine populations in the UK and Denmark: a descriptive study. Lancet Infect Dis 11(8):595–603

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Wu Z, Li F, Liu D, Xue H, Zhao X (2015) Novel type XII staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec harboring a new cassette chromosome recombinase, CcrC2. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 59(12):7597–7601

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Baig S, Johannesen TB, Overballe-Petersen S, Larsen J, Larsen AR, Stegger M (2018) Novel SCCmec type XIII (9A) identified in an ST152 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Infect Genet Evol 61:74–76

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Katayama Y, Ito T, Hiramatsu K (2001) Genetic organization of the chromosome region surrounding mecA in clinical staphylococcal strains: role of IS431-mediated mecI deletion in expression of resistance in mecA-carrying, low-level methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 45(7):1955–1963

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Ryffel C, Bucher R, Kayser FH, Berger-Bachi B (1991) The Staphylococcus aureus mec determinant comprises an unusual cluster of direct repeats and codes for a gene product similar to the Escherichia coli sn-glycerophosphoryl diester phosphodiesterase. J Bacteriol 173(23):7416–7422

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Goering RV, Morrison D, Al-Doori Z, Edwards GF, Gemmell CG (2008) Usefulness of mec-associated direct repeat unit (dru) typing in the epidemiological analysis of highly clonal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Scotland. Clin Microbiol Infect 14(10):964–969

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Ito T, Hiramatsu K, Tomasz A, de Lencastre H, Perreten V, Holden MT et al (2012) Guidelines for reporting novel mecA gene homologues. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 56(10):4997–4999

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Chambers HF (2001) The changing epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus? Emerg Infect Dis 7(2):178–182

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Eady EA, Cove JH (2003) Staphylococcal resistance revisited: community-acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus--an emerging problem for the management of skin and soft tissue infections. Curr Opin Infect Ds 16(2):103–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Okuma K, Iwakawa K, Turnidge JD, Grubb WB, Bell JM, O’Brien FG et al (2002) Dissemination of new methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones in the community. J Clin Microbiol 40(11):4289–4294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Chambers HF, Deleo FR (2009) Waves of resistance: Staphylococcus aureus in the antibiotic era. Nat Rev Microbiol 7(9):629–641

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Schijffelen MJ, Boel CH, van Strijp JA, Fluit AC (2010) Whole genome analysis of a livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 isolate from a case of human endocarditis. BMC Genomics 11:376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Shore AC, Deasy EC, Slickers P, Brennan G, O’Connell B, al MS (2011) Detection of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type XI carrying highly divergent mecA, mecI, mecR1, blaZ, and ccr genes in human clinical isolates of clonal complex 130 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 55(8):3765–3773

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Han X, Ito T, Takeuchi F, Ma XX, Takasu M, Uehara Y et al (2009) Identification of a novel variant of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec, type II.5, and its truncated form by insertion of putative conjugative transposon Tn6012. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 53(6):2616–2619

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kondo Y, Ito T, Ma XX, Watanabe S, Kreiswirth BN, Etienne J et al (2007) Combination of multiplex PCRs for staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type assignment: rapid identification system for mec, ccr, and major differences in junkyard regions. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 51(1):264–274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Chongtrakool P, Ito T, Ma XX, Kondo Y, Trakulsomboon S, Tiensasitorn C et al (2006) Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated in 11 Asian countries: a proposal for a new nomenclature for SCCmec elements. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 50(3):1001–1012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Berglund C, Ito T, Ma XX, Ikeda M, Watanabe S, Soderquist B et al (2009) Genetic diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying type IV SCCmec in Orebro County and the western region of Sweden. J Antimicrob Chemother 63(1):32–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Kwon NH, Park KT, Moon JS, Jung WK, Kim SH, Kim JM et al (2005) Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) characterization and molecular analysis for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and novel SCCmec subtype IVg isolated from bovine milk in Korea. J Antimicrob Chemother 56(4):624–632

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Milheirico C, Oliveira DC, de Lencastre H (2007) Multiplex PCR strategy for subtyping the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: ‘SCCmec IV multiplex’. J Antimicrob Chemother 60(1):42–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Cavaco LM, Hasman H, Stegger M, Andersen PS, Skov R, Fluit AC et al (2010) Cloning and occurrence of czrC, a gene conferring cadmium and zinc resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 isolates. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 54(9):3605–3608

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Oliveira DC, de Lencastre H (2002) Multiplex PCR strategy for rapid identification of structural types and variants of the mec element in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46(7):2155–2161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Zhang K, McClure JA, Elsayed S, Louie T, Conly JM (2005) Novel multiplex PCR assay for characterization and concomitant subtyping of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec types I to V in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Clin Microbiol 43(10):5026–5033

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Zhang K, McClure JA, Conly JM (2012) Enhanced multiplex PCR assay for typing of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec types I to V in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Mol Cell Probes 26(5):218–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Milheirico C, Oliveira DC, de Lencastre H (2007) Update to the multiplex PCR strategy for assignment of mec element types in Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 51(9):3374–3377

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Oliveira DC, Wu SW, de Lencastre H (2000) Genetic organization of the downstream region of the mecA element in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates carrying different polymorphisms of this region. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 44(7):1906–1910

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Kaya H, Hasman H, Larsen J, Stegger M, Johannesen TB, Allesoe RL et al (2018) SCCmecFinder, a web-based tool for typing of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec in Staphylococcus aureus using whole-genome sequence data. mSphere 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00612-17

  38. Sambrook J, Russell DW (2001) Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual - 2nd ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  39. Lee AS, de Lencastre H, Garau J, Kluytmans J, Malhotra-Kumar S, Peschel A et al (2018) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Nat Rev Dis Primers 4:18033

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Yuki Katayama, Keiichi Hiramatsu, Herminia de Lencastre, Bo Soderquist, Kunyan Zhang, Anders Rhod Larsen, and Mark Holmes for providing some reference strains used in this study. Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to late Teruyo Ito for her great assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Toho University, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Tetsuo Yamaguchi, Daisuke Ono & Ayami Sato

Authors
  1. Tetsuo Yamaguchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daisuke Ono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ayami Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tetsuo Yamaguchi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA

    Yinduo Ji

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

Yamaguchi, T., Ono, D., Sato, A. (2020). Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) Analysis of MRSA. In: Ji, Y. (eds) Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2069. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9849-4_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9849-4_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9848-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9849-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation