This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kozitskaya, S.
Right arrow Articles by Ziebuhr, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kozitskaya, S.
Right arrow Articles by Ziebuhr, W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, February 2004, p. 1210-1215, Vol. 72, No. 2
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.2.1210-1215.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Bacterial Insertion Sequence Element IS256 Occurs Preferentially in Nosocomial Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolates: Association with Biofilm Formation and Resistance to Aminoglycosides

Svetlana Kozitskaya,1 Seung-Hak Cho,1 Katja Dietrich,1 Reinhard Marre,2 Kurt Naber,3 and Wilma Ziebuhr1*

Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, D-97070 Würzburg,1 Abteilung für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, D-89081 Ulm,2 Urologische Klinik, Elisabeth-Krankenhaus, D-94315 Straubing, Germany3

Received 3 July 2003/ Returned for modification 5 September 2003/ Accepted 5 November 2003

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a normal constituent of the healthy human microflora, but it is also the most common cause of nosocomial infections associated with the use of indwelling medical devices. Isolates from device-associated infections are known for their pronounced phenotypic and genetic variability, and in this study we searched for factors that might contribute to this flexibility. We show that mutator phenotypes, which exhibit elevated spontaneous mutation rates, are rare among both pathogenic and commensal S. epidermidis strains. However, the study revealed that, in contrast to those of commensal strains, the genomes of clinical S. epidermidis strains carry multiple copies of the insertion sequence IS256, while other typical staphylococcal insertion sequences, such as IS257 and IS1272, are distributed equally among saprophytic and clinical isolates. Moreover, detection of IS256 was found to be associated with biofilm formation and the presence of the icaADBC operon as well as with gentamicin and oxacillin resistance in the clinical strains. The data suggest that IS256 is a characteristic element in the genome of multiresistant nosocomial S. epidermidis isolates that might be involved in the flexibility and adaptation of the genome in clinical isolates.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, Röntgenring 11, D-97070 Würzburg, Germany. Phone: 49-931-31 2154. Fax: 49-931-31 2578. E-mail: w.ziebuhr{at}mail.uni-wuerzburg.de.

Editor: J. N. Weiser

Infection and Immunity, February 2004, p. 1210-1215, Vol. 72, No. 2
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.2.1210-1215.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Sadykov, M. R., Olson, M. E., Halouska, S., Zhu, Y., Fey, P. D., Powers, R., Somerville, G. A. (2008). Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle-Dependent Regulation of Staphylococcus epidermidis Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin Synthesis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 7621-7632 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rogers, K. L., Rupp, M. E., Fey, P. D. (2008). The Presence of icaADBC Is Detrimental to the Colonization of Human Skin by Staphylococcus epidermidis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 6155-6157 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hennig, S., Ziebuhr, W. (2008). A Transposase-Independent Mechanism Gives Rise to Precise Excision of IS256 from Insertion Sites in Staphylococcus epidermidis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 1488-1490 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Valle, J., Vergara-Irigaray, M., Merino, N., Penades, J. R., Lasa, I. (2007). {sigma}B Regulates IS256-Mediated Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Phenotypic Variation. J. Bacteriol. 189: 2886-2896 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tani, A., Charoenpanich, J., Mori, T., Takeichi, M., Kimbara, K., Kawai, F. (2007). Structure and conservation of a polyethylene glycol-degradative operon in sphingomonads. Microbiology 153: 338-346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xu, L., Li, H., Vuong, C., Vadyvaloo, V., Wang, J., Yao, Y., Otto, M., Gao, Q. (2006). Role of the luxS Quorum-Sensing System in Biofilm Formation and Virulence of Staphylococcus epidermidis. Infect. Immun. 74: 488-496 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kozitskaya, S., Olson, M. E., Fey, P. D., Witte, W., Ohlsen, K., Ziebuhr, W. (2005). Clonal Analysis of Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolates Carrying or Lacking Biofilm-Mediating Genes by Multilocus Sequence Typing. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 4751-4757 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Qian, W., Jia, Y., Ren, S.-X., He, Y.-Q., Feng, J.-X., Lu, L.-F., Sun, Q., Ying, G., Tang, D.-J., Tang, H., Wu, W., Hao, P., Wang, L., Jiang, B.-L., Zeng, S., Gu, W.-Y., Lu, G., Rong, L., Tian, Y., Yao, Z., Fu, G., Chen, B., Fang, R., Qiang, B., Chen, Z., Zhao, G.-P., Tang, J.-L., He, C. (2005). Comparative and functional genomic analyses of the pathogenicity of phytopathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Genome Res 15: 757-767 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yao, Y., Sturdevant, D. E., Villaruz, A., Xu, L., Gao, Q., Otto, M. (2005). Factors Characterizing Staphylococcus epidermidis Invasiveness Determined by Comparative Genomics. Infect. Immun. 73: 1856-1860 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rohde, H., Kalitzky, M., Kroger, N., Scherpe, S., Horstkotte, M. A., Knobloch, J. K.-M., Zander, A. R., Mack, D. (2004). Detection of Virulence-Associated Genes Not Useful for Discriminating between Invasive and Commensal Staphylococcus epidermidis Strains from a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 5614-5619 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Conlon, K. M., Humphreys, H., O'Gara, J. P. (2004). Inactivations of rsbU and sarA by IS256 Represent Novel Mechanisms of Biofilm Phenotypic Variation in Staphylococcus epidermidis. J. Bacteriol. 186: 6208-6219 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»