Affiliation:
1. Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, D-97070 Würzburg
2. Abteilung für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, D-89081 Ulm
3. Urologische Klinik, Elisabeth-Krankenhaus, D-94315 Straubing, Germany
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus epidermidis
is a normal constituent of the healthy human microflora, but it is also the most common cause of nosocomial infections associated with the use of indwelling medical devices. Isolates from device-associated infections are known for their pronounced phenotypic and genetic variability, and in this study we searched for factors that might contribute to this flexibility. We show that mutator phenotypes, which exhibit elevated spontaneous mutation rates, are rare among both pathogenic and commensal
S. epidermidis
strains. However, the study revealed that, in contrast to those of commensal strains, the genomes of clinical
S. epidermidis
strains carry multiple copies of the insertion sequence IS
256
, while other typical staphylococcal insertion sequences, such as IS
257
and IS
1272
, are distributed equally among saprophytic and clinical isolates. Moreover, detection of IS
256
was found to be associated with biofilm formation and the presence of the
icaADBC
operon as well as with gentamicin and oxacillin resistance in the clinical strains. The data suggest that IS
256
is a characteristic element in the genome of multiresistant nosocomial
S. epidermidis
isolates that might be involved in the flexibility and adaptation of the genome in clinical isolates.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Immunology,Microbiology,Parasitology
Cited by
146 articles.
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