Major families of multiresistant plasmids from geographically and epidemiologically diverse staphylococci.

Authors

Julia E.S. Shearer, University of Georgia
Joy Wireman, University of Georgia
Jessica Hostetler, J. Craig Venter Institute
Heather Forberger, J. Craig Venter Institute
Jon Borman, J. Craig Venter Institute
John Gill, J. Craig Venter Institute
Susan Sanchez, University of Georgia
Alexander Mankin, University of Illinois at Chicago
Jacqueline Lamarre, University of Illinois at Chicago
Jodi A. Lindsay, St. George’s, University of London
Kenneth W. Bayles, University of Nebraska Medical CenterFollow
Ainsley Nicholson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Frances O'Brien, Curtin University of Technology
Slade O. Jensen, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Neville Firth, University of Sydney, Australia
Ronald A. Skurray, University of Sydney, Australia
Anne O. Summers, University of Georgia

Document Type

Article

Journal Title

G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics,

Publication Date

Winter 12-2011

Volume

1

Abstract

Staphylococci are increasingly aggressive human pathogens suggesting that active evolution is spreading novel virulence and resistance phenotypes. Large staphylococcal plasmids commonly carry antibiotic resistances and virulence loci, but relatively few have been completely sequenced. We determined the plasmid content of 280 staphylococci isolated in diverse geographical regions from the 1940s to the 2000s and found that 79% of strains carried at least one large plasmid >20 kb and that 75% of these large plasmids were 20-30 kb. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, we grouped 43% of all large plasmids into three major families, showing remarkably conserved intercontinental spread of multiresistant staphylococcal plasmids over seven decades. In total, we sequenced 93 complete and 57 partial staphylococcal plasmids ranging in size from 1.3 kb to 64.9 kb, tripling the number of complete sequences for staphylococcal plasmids >20 kb in the NCBI RefSeq database. These plasmids typically carried multiple antimicrobial and metal resistances and virulence genes, transposases and recombinases. Remarkably, plasmids within each of the three main families were >98% identical, apart from insertions and deletions, despite being isolated from strains decades apart and on different continents. This suggests enormous selective pressure has optimized the content of certain plasmids despite their large size and complex organization.

DOI Link

10.1534/g3.111.000760

ISSN

2160-1836

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Shearer, Julia E.S.; Wireman, Joy; Hostetler, Jessica; Forberger, Heather; Borman, Jon; Gill, John; Sanchez, Susan; Mankin, Alexander; Lamarre, Jacqueline; Lindsay, Jodi A.; Bayles, Kenneth W.; Nicholson, Ainsley; O'Brien, Frances; Jensen, Slade O.; Firth, Neville; Skurray, Ronald A.; and Summers, Anne O., "Major families of multiresistant plasmids from geographically and epidemiologically diverse staphylococci." (2011). Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology. 10.
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/com_pathmicro_articles/10