1
|
Benvenga V, Cuénod A, Purushothaman S, Dasen G, Weisser M, Bassetti S, Roloff T, Siegemund M, Heininger U, Bielicki J, Wehrli M, Friderich P, Frei R, Widmer A, Herzog K, Fankhauser H, Nolte O, Bodmer T, Risch M, Dubuis O, Pranghofer S, Calligaris-Maibach R, Graf S, Perreten V, Seth-Smith HMB, Egli A. Historic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: expanding current knowledge using molecular epidemiological characterization of a Swiss legacy collection. Genome Med 2024; 16:23. [PMID: 38317199 PMCID: PMC10840241 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-024-01292-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Few methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from the early years of its global emergence have been sequenced. Knowledge about evolutionary factors promoting the success of specific MRSA multi-locus sequence types (MLSTs) remains scarce. We aimed to characterize a legacy MRSA collection isolated from 1965 to 1987 and compare it against publicly available international and local genomes. METHODS We accessed 451 historic (1965-1987) MRSA isolates stored in the Culture Collection of Switzerland, mostly collected from the Zurich region. We determined phenotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) using Illumina short-read sequencing on all isolates and long-read sequencing on a selection with Oxford Nanopore Technology. For context, we included 103 publicly available international assemblies from 1960 to 1992 and sequenced 1207 modern Swiss MRSA isolates from 2007 to 2022. We analyzed the core genome (cg)MLST and predicted SCCmec cassette types, AMR, and virulence genes. RESULTS Among the 451 historic Swiss MRSA isolates, we found 17 sequence types (STs) of which 11 have been previously described. Two STs were novel combinations of known loci and six isolates carried previously unsubmitted MLST alleles, representing five new STs (ST7843, ST7844, ST7837, ST7839, and ST7842). Most isolates (83% 376/451) represented ST247-MRSA-I isolated in the 1960s, followed by ST7844 (6% 25/451), a novel single locus variant (SLV) of ST239. Analysis by cgMLST indicated that isolates belonging to ST7844-MRSA-III cluster within the diversity of ST239-MRSA-III. Early MRSA were predominantly from clonal complex (CC)8. From 1980 to the end of the twentieth century, we observed that CC22 and CC5 as well as CC8 were present, both locally and internationally. CONCLUSIONS The combined analysis of 1761 historic and contemporary MRSA isolates across more than 50 years uncovered novel STs and allowed us a glimpse into the lineage flux between Swiss-German and international MRSA across time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vanni Benvenga
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
| | - Aline Cuénod
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
| | - Srinithi Purushothaman
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
| | | | - Maja Weisser
- Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Bassetti
- Internal Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tim Roloff
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Basel, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Martin Siegemund
- Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ulrich Heininger
- Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University of Basel Children's Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Julia Bielicki
- Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University of Basel Children's Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marianne Wehrli
- Microbiology Department, Hospital of Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
| | - Paul Friderich
- Medicinal microbiology department, Hospital of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Reno Frei
- Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Widmer
- Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Herzog
- Clinical Microbiology, Cantonal Hospital Thurgau, Münsterlingen, Switzerland
| | - Hans Fankhauser
- Clinical Microbiology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Nolte
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
- Clinical Microbiology, Zentrum für Labormedizin St, Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Olivier Dubuis
- Clinical Microbiology, Viollier AG, Allschwil, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Susanne Graf
- Clinical Microbiology, Cantonal Hospital Basellandschaft, Liestal, Switzerland
| | - Vincent Perreten
- Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Pathogen Surveillance Platform (SPSP), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Helena M B Seth-Smith
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Basel, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Adrian Egli
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Gloriastrasse 28/30, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland.
- Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Swiss Pathogen Surveillance Platform (SPSP), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Onohuean H, Nwodo UU. Polymorphism and mutational diversity of virulence (vcgCPI/vcgCPE) and resistance determinants (aac(3)-IIa, (aacC2, strA, Sul 1, and 11) among human pathogenic Vibrio species recovered from surface waters in South-Western districts of Uganda. J Genet Eng Biotechnol 2023; 21:94. [PMID: 37801152 PMCID: PMC10558413 DOI: 10.1186/s43141-023-00554-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vibrio species are among the autochthonous bacterial populations found in surface waters and associated with various life-threatening extraintestinal diseases, especially in human populations with underlying illnesses and wound infections. Presently, very diminutive information exists regarding these species' mutational diversity of virulence and resistance genes. This study evaluated variations in endonucleases and mutational diversity of the virulence and resistance genes of Vibrio isolates, harboring virulence-correlated gene (vcgCPI), dihydropteroate synthase type 1 and type II genes (Sul 1 and 11), (aadA) aminoglycoside (3'') (9) adenylyltransferase gene, (aac(3)-IIa, (aacC2)a, aminoglycoside N(3)-acetyltransferase III, and (strA) aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase resistance genes. METHODS Using combinations of molecular biology techniques, bioinformatics tools, and sequence analysis. RESULTS Our result revealed various nucleotide variations in virulence determinants of V. vulnificus (vcgCPI) at nucleotide positions (codon) 73-75 (A → G) and 300-302 (N → S). The aminoglycosides resistance gene (aadA) of Vibrio species depicts a nucleotide difference at position 482 (A → G), while the aminoglycosides resistance gene (sul 1 and 11) showed two variable regions of nucleotide polymorphism (102 and 140). The amino acid differences exist with the nucleotide polymorphism at position 140 (A → E). The banding patterns produced by the restriction enzymes HinP1I, MwoI, and StyD4I showed significant variations. Also, the restriction enzyme digestion of protein dihydropteroate synthase type 1 and type II genes (Sul 1 and 11) differed significantly, while enzymes DpnI and Hinf1 indicate no significant differences. The restriction enzyme NlaIV showed no band compared to reference isolates from the GenBank. However, the resistant determinants show significant point nucleotide mutation, which does not produce any amino acid change with diverse polymorphic regions, as revealed in the restriction digest profile. CONCLUSION The described virulence and resistance determinants possess specific polymorphic locus relevant to pathogenomics studies, pharmacogenomic, and control of such water-associated strains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hope Onohuean
- Biopharmaceutics Unit, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Kampala International University Western Campus, Ishaka-Bushenyi, Uganda.
- Biomolecules, Metagenomics, Endocrine and Tropical Disease Research Group (BMETDREG), Kampala International University, Western Campus, Ishaka-Bushenyi, Uganda.
| | - Uchechukwu U Nwodo
- Patho‑Biocatalysis Group (PBG), Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag 1314, Alice, 5700, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Postiglione U, Batisti Biffignandi G, Corbella M, Merla C, Olivieri E, Petazzoni G, Feil EJ, Bandi C, Cambieri P, Gaiarsa S, Brilli M, Sassera D. Combining Genome Surveillance and Metadata To Characterize the Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus Circulating in an Italian Hospital over a 9-Year Period. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0101023. [PMID: 37458594 PMCID: PMC10433831 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01010-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Genomic-based surveillance has greatly improved our ability to track the emergence and spread of high-risk clones, but the full potential of genomic data is only reached when used in conjunction with detailed metadata. Here, we demonstrate the utility of an integrated approach by leveraging a curated collection of clinical and epidemiological metadata of S. aureus in the San Matteo Hospital (Italy) through a semisupervised clustering strategy. We sequenced 226 sepsis S. aureus samples, recovered over a period of 9 years. By using existing antibiotic profiling data, we selected strains that capture the full diversity of the population. Genome analysis revealed 49 sequence types, 16 of which are novel. Comparative genomic analyses of hospital- and community-acquired infection ruled out the existence of genomic features differentiating them, while evolutionary analyses of genes and traits of interest highlighted different dynamics of acquisition and loss between antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Finally, highly resistant clones belonging to clonal complexes (CC) 8 and 22 were found to be responsible for abundant infections and deaths, while the highly virulent CC30 was responsible for rare but deadly episodes of infections. IMPORTANCE Genome sequencing is an important tool in clinical microbiology, as it allows in-depth characterization of isolates of interest and can propel genome-based surveillance studies. Such studies can benefit from ad hoc methods of sample selection to capture the genomic diversity present in a data set. Here, we present an approach based on clustering of antibiotic resistance profiles that allows optimal sample selection for bacterial genomic surveillance. We apply the method to a 9-year collection of Staphylococcus aureus from a large hospital in northern Italy. Our method allows us to sequence the genomes of a large variety of strains of this important pathogen, which we then leverage to characterize the epidemiology in the hospital and to perform evolutionary analyses on genes and traits of interest. These analyses highlight different dynamics of acquisition and loss between antibiotic resistance and virulence genes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- U. Postiglione
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - M. Corbella
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - C. Merla
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - E. Olivieri
- Istituto Zooproflattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna, Pavia, Italy
| | - G. Petazzoni
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - E. J. Feil
- The Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - C. Bandi
- Department of Bioscience, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - P. Cambieri
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - S. Gaiarsa
- Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| | - M. Brilli
- Department of Bioscience, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - D. Sassera
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rodrigues RA, Pizauro LJL, Varani ADM, de Almeida CC, Silva SR, Cardozo MV, MacInnes JI, Kropinski AM, Melo PDC, Ávila FA. Comparative genomics study of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from cattle and humans reveals virulence patterns exclusively associated with bovine clinical mastitis strains. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1033675. [PMID: 36419431 PMCID: PMC9676464 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1033675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus causes nosocomial and intramammary infections in humans and cattle, respectively. A large number of virulence factors are thought to play important roles in the pathogenesis of this bacterium. Currently, genome-wide and data-analysis studies are being used to better understand its epidemiology. In this study, we conducted a genome wide comparison and phylogenomic analyses of S. aureus to find specific virulence patterns associated with clinical and subclinical mastitis strains in cattle and compare them with those of human origin. The presence/absence of key virulence factors such as adhesin, biofilm, antimicrobial resistance, and toxin genes, as well as the phylogeny and sequence type of the isolates were evaluated. A total of 248 genomes (27 clinical mastitis, 43 subclinical mastitis, 21 milk, 53 skin-related abscesses, 49 skin infections, and 55 pus from cellulitis) isolated from 32 countries were evaluated. We found that the cflA, fnbA, ebpS, spa, sdrC, coa, emp, vWF, atl, sasH, sasA, and sasF adhesion genes, as well as the aur, hglA, hglB, and hglC toxin genes were highly associated in clinical mastitis strains. The strains had diverse genetic origins (72 protein A and 48 sequence types with ST97, ST8 and ST152 being frequent in isolates from clinical mastitis, abscess, and skin infection, respectively). Further, our phylogenomic analyses suggested that zoonotic and/or zooanthroponotic transmission may have occurred. These findings contribute to a better understanding of S. aureus epidemiology and the relationships between adhesion mechanisms, biofilm formation, antimicrobial resistance, and toxins and could aid in the development of improved vaccines and strain genotyping methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romário Alves Rodrigues
- Department of Reproduction Pathology and One Health, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Lucas José Luduverio Pizauro
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Alessandro de Mello Varani
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Camila Chioda de Almeida
- Department of Reproduction Pathology and One Health, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Saura Rodrigues Silva
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marita Vedovelli Cardozo
- Laboratory of Microorganism Physiology, Minas Gerais State University, Passos, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Janet I. MacInnes
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Andrew M. Kropinski
- Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
- Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Poliana de Castro Melo
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Fernando Antonio Ávila
- Department of Reproduction Pathology and One Health, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
The field of genomic epidemiology is rapidly growing as many jurisdictions begin to deploy whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in their national or regional pathogen surveillance programmes. WGS data offer a rich view of the shared ancestry of a set of taxa, typically visualized with phylogenetic trees illustrating the clusters or subtypes present in a group of taxa, their relatedness and the extent of diversification within and between them. When methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) arose and disseminated widely, phylogenetic trees of MRSA-containing types of S. aureus had a distinctive ‘comet’ shape, with a ‘comet head’ of recently adapted drug-resistant isolates in the context of a ‘comet tail’ that was predominantly drug-sensitive. Placing an S. aureus isolate in the context of such a ‘comet’ helped public health laboratories interpret local data within the broader setting of S. aureus evolution. In this work, we ask what other tree shapes, analogous to the MRSA comet, are present in bacterial WGS datasets. We extract trees from large bacterial genomic datasets, visualize them as images and cluster the images. We find nine major groups of tree images, including the ‘comets’, star-like phylogenies, ‘barbell’ phylogenies and other shapes, and comment on the evolutionary and epidemiological stories these shapes might illustrate. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Genomic population structures of microbial pathogens’.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Hayati
- School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| | - Leonid Chindelevitch
- Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK
| | - David Aanensen
- Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Caroline Colijn
- Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
| |
Collapse
|