Journal article

Emergence and clonal expansion of a qacA-harbouring sequence type 45 lineage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Yi Nong, Eike Steinig, Georgina L Pollock, George Taiaroa, Glen P Carter, Ian R Monk, Stanley Pang, Denise A Daley, Geoffrey W Coombs, Brian M Forde, Patrick NA Harris, Norelle L Sherry, Benjamin P Howden, Shivani Pasricha, Sarah L Baines, Deborah A Williamson

Communications Biology | Nature Portfolio | Published : 2024

Abstract

The past decade has seen an increase in the prevalence of sequence type (ST) 45 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), yet the underlying drivers for its emergence and spread remain unclear. To better understand the worldwide dissemination of ST45 S. aureus, we performed phylogenetic analyses of Australian isolates, supplemented with a global population of ST45 S. aureus genomes. Our analyses revealed a distinct lineage of multidrug-resistant ST45 MRSA harbouring qacA, predominantly found in Australia and Singapore. Bayesian inference predicted that the acquisition of qacA occurred in the late 1990s. qacA was integrated into a structurally variable region of the chromosome conta..

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