Staphylococcus Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Staphylococcus, including details on mrsa, hospitals, infection, antibiotic resistance, superbugs.

Genetic characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Hiramatsu K, Watanabe S, Takeuchi F, Ito T, Baba T

Department of Bacteriology, Juntendo University, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 113-8421. kiram@med.juntendo.ac.jp

The genome structure of Staphylococcus aureus is analyzed. The genome is composed of two domains. The first domain, descendent from an ancestral bacterial species, contains house-keeping genes that showed highest homology to those of Bacillus species. The second domain contained the genes responsible for virulence and drug-resistance in human infection that seems to have been acquired from other bacterial species via lateral gene transfer. The latter domain constitutes the genetic information that makes S. aureus a notorious hospital pathogen.

Published 3 December 2004 in Vaccine, 22: S5-8.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Staphylococcus Research Today. All Rights Reserved.