Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC

Ewan M. Harrison; Gavin K. Paterson; Matthew Thomas Geoffrey Holden; Jesper Larsen; Marc Stegger; Anders Rhod Larsen; Andreas Petersen; Robert L. Skov; Judit Marta Christensen; Anne Bak Zeuthen; Ole Heltberg; Simon R. Harris; Ruth N. Zadoks; Julian Parkhill; Sharon J. Peacock; Mark A. Holmes

doi:10.1002/emmm.201202413

Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC

Ewan M. Harrison, Gavin K. Paterson, Matthew Thomas Geoffrey Holden, Jesper Larsen, Marc Stegger, Anders Rhod Larsen, Andreas Petersen, Robert L. Skov, Judit Marta Christensen, Anne Bak Zeuthen, Ole Heltberg, Simon R. Harris, Ruth N. Zadoks, Julian Parkhill, Sharon J. Peacock, Mark A. Holmes^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

191 Citations (Scopus)

5 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Several methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lineages that carry a novel mecA homologue (mecC) have recently been described in livestock and humans. In Denmark, two independent human cases of mecC-MRSA infection have been linked to a livestock reservoir. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the associated MRSA isolates using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were defined and compared to a reference genome to place the isolates into a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct farm-specific clusters comprising isolates from the human case and their own livestock, whereas human and animal isolates from the same farm only differed by a small number of SNPs, which supports the likelihood of zoonotic transmission. Further analyses identified a number of genes and mutations that may be associated with host interaction and virulence. This study demonstrates that mecC-MRSA ST130 isolates are capable of transmission between animals and humans, and underscores the potential of WGS in epidemiological investigations and source tracking of bacterial infections. See accompanying article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201302622

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	509-515
Number of pages	7
Journal	Embo Molecular Medicine
Volume	5
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201202413
Publication status	Published - Apr 2013

Keywords

Cattle
mecC
MRSA
Sheep
Zoonosis
Resistant Staphylococcus-Aureus
Evolution
Spread
MECA(LGA251)
Contributes
Adaptation
Virulence
Carriage
Adhesion
Protein

Access to Document

10.1002/emmm.201202413Licence: CC BY

EMBOMolMed5-WholeGenome_CC
Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd on behalf of EMBO. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Final published version, 220 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Harrison, E. M., Paterson, G. K., Holden, M. T. G., Larsen, J., Stegger, M., Larsen, A. R., Petersen, A., Skov, R. L., Christensen, J. M., Zeuthen, A. B., Heltberg, O., Harris, S. R., Zadoks, R. N., Parkhill, J., Peacock, S. J., & Holmes, M. A. (2013). Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC. Embo Molecular Medicine, 5(4), 509-515. https://doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201202413

@article{23f898be00e54c54aec7393d4bc1885c,

title = "Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC",

abstract = "Several methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lineages that carry a novel mecA homologue (mecC) have recently been described in livestock and humans. In Denmark, two independent human cases of mecC-MRSA infection have been linked to a livestock reservoir. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the associated MRSA isolates using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were defined and compared to a reference genome to place the isolates into a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct farm-specific clusters comprising isolates from the human case and their own livestock, whereas human and animal isolates from the same farm only differed by a small number of SNPs, which supports the likelihood of zoonotic transmission. Further analyses identified a number of genes and mutations that may be associated with host interaction and virulence. This study demonstrates that mecC-MRSA ST130 isolates are capable of transmission between animals and humans, and underscores the potential of WGS in epidemiological investigations and source tracking of bacterial infections. See accompanying article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201302622",

keywords = "Cattle, mecC, MRSA, Sheep, Zoonosis, Resistant Staphylococcus-Aureus, Evolution, Spread, MECA(LGA251), Contributes, Adaptation, Virulence, Carriage, Adhesion, Protein",

author = "Harrison, {Ewan M.} and Paterson, {Gavin K.} and Holden, {Matthew Thomas Geoffrey} and Jesper Larsen and Marc Stegger and Larsen, {Anders Rhod} and Andreas Petersen and Skov, {Robert L.} and Christensen, {Judit Marta} and Zeuthen, {Anne Bak} and Ole Heltberg and Harris, {Simon R.} and Zadoks, {Ruth N.} and Julian Parkhill and Peacock, {Sharon J.} and Holmes, {Mark A.}",

note = "This work was supported by a Medical Research Council (MRC) Partnership Grant (G1001787/1) held between the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge (M. A. H.), the School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge (S. J. P.), the Moredun Research Institute (R. N. Z.) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (J. P. and S. J. P.).",

year = "2013",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1002/emmm.201202413",

language = "English",

volume = "5",

pages = "509--515",

journal = "Embo Molecular Medicine",

issn = "1757-4676",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "4",

}

Harrison, EM, Paterson, GK, Holden, MTG, Larsen, J, Stegger, M, Larsen, AR, Petersen, A, Skov, RL, Christensen, JM, Zeuthen, AB, Heltberg, O, Harris, SR, Zadoks, RN, Parkhill, J, Peacock, SJ & Holmes, MA 2013, 'Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC', Embo Molecular Medicine, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 509-515. https://doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201202413

TY - JOUR

T1 - Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC

AU - Harrison, Ewan M.

AU - Paterson, Gavin K.

AU - Holden, Matthew Thomas Geoffrey

AU - Larsen, Jesper

AU - Stegger, Marc

AU - Larsen, Anders Rhod

AU - Petersen, Andreas

AU - Skov, Robert L.

AU - Christensen, Judit Marta

AU - Zeuthen, Anne Bak

AU - Heltberg, Ole

AU - Harris, Simon R.

AU - Zadoks, Ruth N.

AU - Parkhill, Julian

AU - Peacock, Sharon J.

AU - Holmes, Mark A.

N1 - This work was supported by a Medical Research Council (MRC) Partnership Grant (G1001787/1) held between the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge (M. A. H.), the School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge (S. J. P.), the Moredun Research Institute (R. N. Z.) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (J. P. and S. J. P.).

PY - 2013/4

Y1 - 2013/4

N2 - Several methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lineages that carry a novel mecA homologue (mecC) have recently been described in livestock and humans. In Denmark, two independent human cases of mecC-MRSA infection have been linked to a livestock reservoir. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the associated MRSA isolates using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were defined and compared to a reference genome to place the isolates into a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct farm-specific clusters comprising isolates from the human case and their own livestock, whereas human and animal isolates from the same farm only differed by a small number of SNPs, which supports the likelihood of zoonotic transmission. Further analyses identified a number of genes and mutations that may be associated with host interaction and virulence. This study demonstrates that mecC-MRSA ST130 isolates are capable of transmission between animals and humans, and underscores the potential of WGS in epidemiological investigations and source tracking of bacterial infections. See accompanying article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201302622

AB - Several methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lineages that carry a novel mecA homologue (mecC) have recently been described in livestock and humans. In Denmark, two independent human cases of mecC-MRSA infection have been linked to a livestock reservoir. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of the associated MRSA isolates using whole genome sequencing (WGS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were defined and compared to a reference genome to place the isolates into a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct farm-specific clusters comprising isolates from the human case and their own livestock, whereas human and animal isolates from the same farm only differed by a small number of SNPs, which supports the likelihood of zoonotic transmission. Further analyses identified a number of genes and mutations that may be associated with host interaction and virulence. This study demonstrates that mecC-MRSA ST130 isolates are capable of transmission between animals and humans, and underscores the potential of WGS in epidemiological investigations and source tracking of bacterial infections. See accompanying article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/emmm.201302622

KW - Cattle

KW - mecC

KW - MRSA

KW - Sheep

KW - Zoonosis

KW - Resistant Staphylococcus-Aureus

KW - Evolution

KW - Spread

KW - MECA(LGA251)

KW - Contributes

KW - Adaptation

KW - Virulence

KW - Carriage

KW - Adhesion

KW - Protein

U2 - 10.1002/emmm.201202413

DO - 10.1002/emmm.201202413

M3 - Article

SN - 1757-4676

VL - 5

SP - 509

EP - 515

JO - Embo Molecular Medicine

JF - Embo Molecular Medicine

IS - 4

ER -

Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this