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Microorganisms
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Biology and Pathogenesis of Staphylococcus Infection (2nd Edition)
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Biology and Pathogenesis of Staphylococcus Infection (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 6464

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Valentina Virginia Ebani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
2. Interdepartmental Research Center “Nutraceuticals and Food for Health”, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Interests: zoonosis; arthropod-borne infections; leptospirosis; enteropathogens; antibiotic resistance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Genus Staphylococcus includes several species, both coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative. Among them, Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen isolated from clinical specimens, even though other staphylococcal species may be involved in a wide spectrum of infections in humans and animals.

These bacteria have emerged as important pathogens for both nosocomial and community-acquired infections in people, as well as being a severe threat in veterinary medicine, causing diseases in farm animals and pets, including birds and reptiles. Moreover, staphylococci can produce enterotoxins responsible for food-poisoning diseases. In recent years, the incidence of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus isolates has increased, becoming a severe problem for infection treatment.

The aim of this Special Issue is to give a platform for practitioners and researchers operating in human and veterinary medicine to exchange information and updates.

With this goal, we cordially invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications related to the various aspects of Staphylococcus infections: bacteria–host interactions, epidemiology, diagnostic procedures, therapy, and prevention.

Dr. Valentina Virginia Ebani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Staphylococcus spp.
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • coagulase-negative staphylococci
  • animal infection
  • human infection
  • foodborne diseases
  • microbiology
  • enterotoxins
  • antibiotics
  • antibiotic resistance
  • natural product activity
  • bacteria–host interactions
  • epidemiology
  • diagnostic methods
  • prevention

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1924 KiB  
Article
Displacement of Hospital-Acquired, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clones by Heterogeneous Community Strains in Kenya over a 13-Year Period
by Justin Nyasinga, Zubair Munshi, Collins Kigen, Andrew Nyerere, Lillian Musila, Andrew Whitelaw, Wilma Ziebuhr and Gunturu Revathi
Microorganisms 2024, 12(6), 1171; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12061171 - 8 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1105
Abstract
We determined antibiotic susceptibility and employed Oxford Nanopore whole-genome sequencing to explore strain diversity, resistance, and virulence gene carriage among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from different infection sites and timepoints in a tertiary Kenyan hospital. Ninety-six nonduplicate clinical isolates recovered between 2010 [...] Read more.
We determined antibiotic susceptibility and employed Oxford Nanopore whole-genome sequencing to explore strain diversity, resistance, and virulence gene carriage among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from different infection sites and timepoints in a tertiary Kenyan hospital. Ninety-six nonduplicate clinical isolates recovered between 2010 and 2023, identified and tested for antibiotic susceptibility on the VITEK ID/AST platform, were sequenced. Molecular typing, antibiotic resistance, and virulence determinant screening were performed using the relevant bioinformatics tools. The strains, alongside those from previous studies, were stratified into two periods covering 2010–2017 and 2018–2023 and comparisons were made. Mirroring phenotypic profiles, aac(6′)-aph(2″) [aminoglycosides]; gyrA (S84L) and grlA (S80Y) [fluoroquinolones]; dfrG [anti-folates]; and tet(K) [tetracycline] resistance determinants dominated the collection. While the proportion of ST239/241-t037-SCCmec III among MRSA reduced from 37.7% to 0% over the investigated period, ST4803-t1476-SCCmec IV and ST152-t355-SCCmec IV were pre-eminent. The prevalence of Panton–Valentine leucocidin (PVL) and arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) genes was 38% (33/87) and 6.8% (6/87), respectively. We observed the displacement of HA-MRSA ST239/241-t037-SCCmec III with the emergence of ST152-t355-SCCmec IV and a greater clonal heterogeneity. The occurrence of PVL+/ACME+ CA-MRSA in recent years warrants further investigations into their role in the CA-MRSA virulence landscape, in a setting of high PVL prevalence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Pathogenesis of Staphylococcus Infection (2nd Edition))
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10 pages, 787 KiB  
Article
Antibiotics Resistance and Adhesive Properties of Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Wound Infections
by Khulood Fahad Alabbosh, Tarek Zmantar, Abdulrahman S. Bazaid, Mejdi Snoussi and Emira Noumi
Microorganisms 2023, 11(5), 1353; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11051353 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1714
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a ubiquitous pathogen responsible for several severe infections. This study aimed to investigate the adhesive properties and antibiotic resistance among clinical S. aureus isolated from Hail Hospital Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), using molecular approaches. [...] Read more.
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a ubiquitous pathogen responsible for several severe infections. This study aimed to investigate the adhesive properties and antibiotic resistance among clinical S. aureus isolated from Hail Hospital Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), using molecular approaches. This study was conducted according to the ethical committee at Hail’s guidelines on twenty-four S. aureus isolates. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to identify genes encoding the β-lactamase resistance (blaZ), methicillin resistance (mecA), fluoroquinolone resistance (norA), nitric oxide reductase (norB), fibronectin (fnbA and fnbB), clumping factor (clfA) and intracellular adhesion factors (icaA and icaD). This qualitative study tested adhesion based on exopolysaccharide production on Congo red agar (CRA) medium and biofilm formation on polystyrene by S. aureus strains. Among 24 isolates, the cna and blaz were the most prevalent (70.8%), followed by norB (54.1%), clfA (50.0%), norA (41.6%), mecA and fnbB (37.5%) and fnbA (33.3%). The presence of icaA/icaD genes was demonstrated in almost all tested strains in comparison to the reference strain, S. aureus ATCC 43300. The phenotypic study of adhesion showed that all tested strains had moderate biofilm-forming capacity on polystyrene and represented different morphotypes on a CRA medium. Five strains among the twenty-four harbored the four genes of resistance to antibiotics (mecA, norA, norB and blaz). Considering the genes of adhesion (cna, clfA, fnbA and fnbB), these genes were present in 25% of the tested isolates. Regarding the adhesive properties, the clinical isolates of S. aureus formed biofilm on polystyrene, and only one strain (S17) produced exopolysaccharides on Congo red agar. All these results contribute to an understanding that the pathogenesis of clinical S. aureus isolates is due to their antibiotic resistance and adhesion to medical material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Pathogenesis of Staphylococcus Infection (2nd Edition))
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16 pages, 2618 KiB  
Article
Antibiotic Susceptibility Profiling of Human Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus Strains Using Whole Genome Sequencing and Genome-Scale Annotation Approaches
by Mejdi Snoussi, Emira Noumi, Nouha Bouali, Abdulrahman S. Bazaid, Mousa M. Alreshidi, Hisham N. Altayb and Kamel Chaieb
Microorganisms 2023, 11(5), 1124; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11051124 - 26 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2666
Abstract
Staphylococcus species are major pathogens with increasing importance due to the rise in antibiotic resistance. Whole genome sequencing and genome-scale annotation are promising approaches to study the pathogenicity and dissemination of virulence factors in nosocomial methicillin-resistant and multidrug-resistant bacteria in intensive care units. [...] Read more.
Staphylococcus species are major pathogens with increasing importance due to the rise in antibiotic resistance. Whole genome sequencing and genome-scale annotation are promising approaches to study the pathogenicity and dissemination of virulence factors in nosocomial methicillin-resistant and multidrug-resistant bacteria in intensive care units. Draft genome sequences of eight clinical S. aureus strains were assembled and annotated for the prediction of antimicrobial resistance genes, virulence factors, and phylogenetic analysis. Most of the studied S. aureus strains displayed multi-resistance toward the tested drugs, reaching more than seven drugs up to 12 in isolate S22. The mecA gene was detected in three isolates (S14, S21, and S23), mecC was identified in S8 and S9, and blaZ was commonly identified in all isolates except strain S23. Additionally, two complete mobile genomic islands coding for methicillin resistance SCCmec Iva (2B) were identified in strains S21 and S23. Numerous antimicrobial resistance genes (norA, norC, MgrA, tet(45), APH(3′)-IIIa, and AAC(6′)-APH(2″)) were identified in chromosomes of different strains. Plasmid analysis revealed the presence of blaZ, tetK, and ermC in different plasmid types, located in gene cassettes containing plasmid replicons (rep) and insertion sequences (IS). Additionally, the aminoglycoside-resistant determinants were identified in S1 (APH(3′)-IIIa), while AAC(6)-APH(2″) was detected in strains S8 and S14. The trimethoprim (dfrC) resistance gene was detected in S. aureus S21, and the fosfomycin (fosB) resistance gene was detected only in S. aureus S14. We also noted that S. aureus S1 belongs to ST1-t127, which has been reported as one of the most frequent human pathogen types. Additionally, we noted the presence of rare plasmid-mediated mecC-MRSA in some of our isolates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Pathogenesis of Staphylococcus Infection (2nd Edition))
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