In vitro transfer of methicillin resistance determinants mecA from methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA)

• Published in: BMC microbiology 2017-04, Vol.17 (1), p.83-83, Article 83
• Main Authors: Bitrus, Asinamai Athliamai, Zunita, Zakaria, Bejo, Siti Khairani, Othman, Sarah, Nadzir, Nur Adilah Ahmad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agar; Amplification; Animal husbandry; Animals; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antibodies; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial resistance; Arches; Assaying; Attachment; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Base Sequence; Biochemistry; Biocompatibility; Catalase; Cefpodoxime; Cell culture; Chromosomes; Clinical isolates; Coagulase; Coagulase test; Computer viruses; Culture media; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Bacterial; Drug resistance; Fungi; Gastrointestinal tract; Gene Transfer, Horizontal - genetics; Genes; Genes, Bacterial; Genomes; Horizontal gene transfer; In Vitro Techniques; Methicillin; Methicillin - pharmacology; Methicillin Resistance - genetics; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microflora; Multiplexing; Parasites; Pathogens; Penicillin-Binding Proteins - genetics; Plasmids; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Resistance; Sewage; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - pathogenicity; Temperature effects; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transposons; Tubes
• ISSN: 1471-2180; 1471-2180
• DOI: 10.1186/s12866-017-0994-6

Staphylococcus aureus more than any other human pathogen is a better model for the study of the adaptive evolution of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, as it has demonstrated a remarkable ability in its response to new antibiotics. This study was designed to investigate the in vitro transfer of mecA gene from methicillin resistant S. aureus to methicillin susceptible S. aureus. The recipient transconjugants were resistant to erythromycin, cefpodoxime and were mecA positive. PCR amplification of mecA after mix culture plating on Luria Bertani agar containing 100 μg/mL showed that 75% of the donor and 58.3% of the recipient transconjugants were mecA positive. Additionally, 61.5% of both the donor cells and recipient transconjugants were mecA positive, while 46.2% and 41.75% of both donor and recipient transconjugants were mecA positive on LB agar containing 50 μg/mL and 30 μg/mL respectively. In this study, the direction of transfer of phenotypic resistance as well as mecA was observed to have occurred from the donor to the recipient strains. This study affirmed the importance of horizontal transfer events in the dissemination of antibiotics resistance among different strains of MRSA.