Journal article

Remodeling of pSK1 family plasmids and enhanced chlorhexidine tolerance in a dominant hospital lineage of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

SL Baines, SO Jensen, N Firth, AG da Silva, T Seemann, GP Carter, DA Williamson, BP Howden, TP Stinear

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy | AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY | Published : 2019

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a significant human pathogen whose evolution and adaptation have been shaped in part by mobile genetic elements (MGEs), facilitating the global spread of extensive antimicrobial resistance. However, our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics surrounding MGEs, in particular, how changes in the structure of multidrug resistance (MDR) plasmids may influence important staphylococcal phenotypes, is incomplete. Here, we undertook a population and functional genomics study of 212 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) sequence type 239 (ST239) isolates collected over 32 years to explore the evolution of the pSK1 family of MDR plasmids, illustrating how these plasmids ha..

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