Keywords

Staphylococcus aureus; genomic epidemiology; MRSA; MSSA; infectious disease; bacterial infection

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, SA) is a gram-positive bacterial colonizer and pathogen commonly carried on the skin and in the anterior nares of humans. SA colonization may lead to a variety of non-invasive (e.g., skin and soft tissue infections, SSTIs) and invasive (e.g., bacteremia and osteomyelitis) infections. The SA population is comprised of multiple lineages that can be delineated through multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), which compares nucleotide sequences within seven housekeeping genes. Strains belonging to an MLST share a common evolutionary history and phenotypic characteristics like antibiotic resistance or virulence. As a result, the epidemiology of lineages can be distinct from one another. One such MLST, sequence type 72 (ST72), is an emerging community-associated (CA) and healthcare-associated (HA) lineage made up of both methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible (MRSA and MSSA) strains. To characterize the epidemiology of ST72 and track its emergence, an extensive literature review and meta-analysis of SA genome sequences belonging to ST72 was performed. It was found that ST72 has been associated with healthcare transmission and is frequently isolated from blood, sputum, and SSTIs among patients hospitalized in the ICU. Genomic and phylogenetic analyses assessed the geographic distribution and rate of spread. It was determined that a considerable proportion of the sample size was from North America and primarily MSSA strains. Moreover, there were 11 similar subgroups and multiple significant clades that emerged over time.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Summer

Thesis Chair

Azarian, Taj

College

College of Medicine

Department

Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences

Thesis Discipline

Biomedical Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Rights Statement

In Copyright