Global spread of three multidrug-resistant lineages of Staphylococcus epidermidis

Jean YH Lee; Ian R Monk; Anders Goncalves da Silva; Torsten Seemann; Kyra YL Chua; Angela Kearns; Robert Hill; Neil Woodford; Mette D Bartels; Birgit Strommenger; Frederic Laurent; Magali Dodemont; Ariane Deplano; Robin Patel; Anders R Larsen; Tony M Korman; Timothy P Stinear; Benjamin P Howden

Journal article

Global spread of three multidrug-resistant lineages of Staphylococcus epidermidis

Jean YH Lee, Ian R Monk, Anders Goncalves da Silva, Torsten Seemann, Kyra YL Chua, Angela Kearns, Robert Hill, Neil Woodford, Mette D Bartels, Birgit Strommenger, Frederic Laurent, Magali Dodemont, Ariane Deplano, Robin Patel, Anders R Larsen, Tony M Korman, Timothy P Stinear, Benjamin P Howden

NATURE MICROBIOLOGY | NATURE RESEARCH | Published : 2018

DOI: 10.1038/s41564-018-0230-7

Abstract

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a conspicuous member of the human microbiome, widely present on healthy skin. Here we show that S. epidermidis has also evolved to become a formidable nosocomial pathogen. Using genomics, we reveal that three multidrug-resistant, hospital-adapted lineages of S. epidermidis (two ST2 and one ST23) have emerged in recent decades and spread globally. These lineages are resistant to rifampicin through acquisition of specific rpoB mutations that have become fixed in the populations. Analysis of isolates from 96 institutions in 24 countries identified dual D471E and I527M RpoB substitutions to be the most common cause of rifampicin resistance in S. epidermidis, account..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Torsten Seemann Author Microbiology and Immunology

Ian Monk Author Microbiology and Immunology

Kyra Chua Author Microbiology and Immunology

Ben Howden Author Microbiology and Immunology

Anders Goncalves Da Silva Author Microbiology and Immunology

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Grants

Awarded by National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Project

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Project

Awarded by NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship

Awarded by NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship

Awarded by NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank D. Kotsanas (Monash Health), M. Hickey (Ireland), A. Boulos (Northern Ireland) and K. E. Greenwood Quaintance, S. M. Schmidt-Malan and Y. M. Wi (United States) for their submission of isolates used in this study. This project was supported by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Basser Research Entry Scholarship/Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (to J.Y.H.L.), a National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Project Grant to R.P. (R21 AI125870), a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Project Grant (GNT1066791), an NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship to T.P.S. (GNT1105525) and an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship to B.P.H. (GNT1105905).