Iranian Biomedical Journal

en Clonal Diversity and Genetic Landscape of mecC-Positive S. aureus in Human Samples from Iran: First Report of CC/ST423/t742 Molecular Microbiology Molecular Microbiology مقاله کامل Full Length/Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;">Background: The emergence of mecC-carrying Staphylococcus aureus strains is a serious concern in public health. Our study investigated the clonal diversity, genetic characteristics, antimicrobial resistance, virulence determinants, biofilm-forming ability, and molecular epidemiology of mecC-positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates obtained from hospitalized patients in Iran. Methods: We analyzed 45 mecC-carrying S. aureus strains isolated from 1,590 S. aureus samples collected from different clinical sources. The characterization included antimicrobial susceptibility tests, assessment of biofilm formation, spa typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and PCR analysis to detect resistance, biofilm-related, and virulence genes. Results: Our results showed that 17.8%, 17.8%, and 64.4% of the isolates were classified as weak, intermediate, and strong biofilm producers, respectively. The prevalence of the ant(4΄)-Ia and tet(M) was found in 80% and 73.3% of the isolates, respectively. MLST revealed that the 45 isolates belonged to four clonal complexes: CC8 (44.4%), CC130 (24.5%), CC121 (17.8%), and CC425 (13.3%). The majority of S. aureus isolates belonged to the CC8/ST239 lineage (44.4%). Also, tst-positive strains belonged to CC121/ST599/t5930 (17.8%) and CC8/ST239/t037 (11.1%), while eta-positive isolates belonged to CC/ST130/t843 (15.6%). Fusidic acid-resistant S. aureus isolates primarily belonged to CC8/ST239/t037 lineage (11.1%), followed by CC8/ST239/t7688 (6.7%), both carrying the fusB gene. Vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus strains were classified into CC/ST599/t5930 (6.7%) and CC/ST130/t843 (4.4%) clones. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for close and continuous monitoring of the genetic diversity and characteristics of the mecC-carrying S. aureus strains. Besides, urgent measures are required to prevent the transmission of these strains and to effectively treat associated infections. </div> Hospitals, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus 174 187 http://ibj.pasteur.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-6365-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mehdi Goudarzi gudarzim@yahoo.com 0000-0001-6720-9341 Yes Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sima Sadat Seyedjavadi sima_seyedjavadi@yahoo.com 0000-0002-5896-5636 No Department of Mycology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Mozhgan Raigani m.raigani@gmail.com 0000-0003-4764-0606 No Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Zahra Salehi zahrasalehi.1323@gmail.com 0000-0002-4913-6211 No Department of Mycology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Masoud Dadashi m_d6512@yahoo.com 0000-0002-4800-2078 No Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran Mohammad Javad Nasiri mj.nasiri@hotmail.com 0000-0002-3279-0671 No Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran