A comparative analysis of Phenol Soluble Modulin production and G. mellonella killing by community-associated and healthcare-associated MRSA strains.

A comparative analysis of Phenol Soluble Modulin production and G. mellonella killing by community-associated and healthcare-associated MRSA strains. J Med Microbiol. 2016 Oct 26;: Authors: Boakes E, Marbach H, Lynham S, Ward M, Edgeworth J, Otter J Abstract Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) have emerged globally and have been associated with more severe disease than healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). The purpose of this study was to determine whether laboratory measures of virulence can distinguish dominant CA-MRSA clones from HA-MRSA clones. We compared the production of Phenol Soluble Modulins (PSM) and ability to kill Galleria mellonella caterpillars for a range of CA- and HA-MRSA strains. 22 HA-MRSA strains (ST22-IV (EMRSA-15), ST36-II (EMRSA-16), and ST239-III) and 26 CA-MRSA strains (ST1-IV (PVL+ USA400), ST1-IV (PVL-), ST8-IV (USA300), ST22-IV (PVL+), ST30-IV, ST59-IV and ST80-IV) were analysed. PSM production was measured using mass spectrometry and compared using t-tests and ANOVA. A Galleria mellonella (caterpillar) pathogenicity model was performed and differences compared using survival analysis and the log-rank test. There was no significant difference in overall PSM production between HA and CA strains (p=0.090) but there was significant variation between clones (p=0.003). G. melonella caterpillar killing varied significantly by clone (p<0.001) and overall killing was grea...
Source: Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: J Med Microbiol Source Type: research