ArticlemBio2013
Emergence of the epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain USA300 coincides with horizontal transfer of the arginine catabolic mobile element and speG-mediated adaptations for survival on skin.
Article in mBio, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers.
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Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Molecular Mechanisms of Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury.Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN · 2025Review
- Evolution of polyamine resistance inmSphere · 2025Article
- Immunometabolism shapes chronic Staphylococcus aureus infection: insights from biofilm infection models.Current opinion in microbiology · 2025Review
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- Molecular Epidemiology Clinical Manifestations, Decolonization Strategies, and Treatment Options of Methicillin-ResistantPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistantFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
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- Genomic evolution of ST228 SCCmec-I MRSA 10 years after a major nosocomial outbreak.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2024Article
- Evolution of polyamine resistance inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Microbiome Modulation in Acne Patients and Clinical Correlations.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Resistome, mobilome, and virulome explored in clinical isolates derived from acne patients in Egypt: unveiling unique traits of an emerging coagulase-negativeFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Virulence attributes of successful methicillin-resistantClinical microbiology reviews · 2023Review
- Dynamics of the MRSA Population in a Chilean Hospital: a Phylogenomic Analysis (2000-2016).Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
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- Staphylococcal diversity in atopic dermatitis from an individual to a global scale.Cell host & microbe · 2023Article
- Pre-epidemic evolution of the MRSA USA300 clade and a molecular key for classification.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Prolonged silent carriage, genomic virulence potential and transmission between staff and patients characterize a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) outbreak of methicillin-resistantInfection control and hospital epidemiology · 2023Article
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
unlabelledThe arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) is the largest genomic region distinguishing epidemic USA300 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from other S. aureus strains. However, the functional relevance of ACME to infection and disease has remained unclear. Using phylogenetic analysis, we have shown that the modular segments of ACME were assembled into a single genetic locus in Staphylococcus epidermidis and then horizontally transferred to the common ancestor of USA300 strains in an extremely recent event. Acquisition of one ACME gene, speG, allowed USA300 strains to withstand levels of polyamines (e.g., spermidine) produced in skin that are toxic to other closely related S. aureus strains. speG-mediated polyamine tolerance also enhanced biofilm formation, adherence to fibrinogen/fibronectin, and resistance to antibiotic and keratinocyte-mediated killing. We suggest that these properties gave USA300 a major selective advantage during skin infection and colonization, contributing to the extraordinary evolutionary success of this clone. IMPORTANCE: Over the past 15 years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major public health problem. It is likely that adaptations in specific MRSA lineages (e.g., USA300) drove the spread of MRSA across the United States and allowed it to replace other, less-virulent S. aureus strains. We suggest that one major factor in the evolutionary success of MRSA may have been the acquisition of a gene (speG) that allows S. aureus to evade the toxicity of polyamines (e.g., spermidine and spermine) that are produced in human skin. Polyamine tolerance likely gave MRSA multiple fitness advantages, including the formation of more-robust biofilms, increased adherence to host tissues, and resistance to antibiotics and killing by human skin cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.