Staphylococcus haemolyticus is a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes in the preterm infant gut

Staphylococcus haemolyticus is a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes in the preterm infant gut

Staphylococcus haemolyticus is an important cause of sepsis in preterm infants, with gut colonization being recognized as a risk factor for infection. To better understand the diversity of S. haemolyticus among preterm infants, we generated genome sequences of S. haemolyticus strains (n = 140) from...

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Main Authors: Lisa E. Lamberte, Elizabeth M. Darby, Raymond Kiu, Robert A. Moran, Antia Acuna-Gonzalez, Kathleen Sim, Alexander G. Shaw, J. Simon Kroll, Gusztav Belteki, Paul Clarke, Heather Felgate, Mark A. Webber, William Rowe, Lindsay J. Hall, Willem Van Schaik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Gut Microbes
Subjects:
Staphylococcus
neonates
antibiotic resistance
microbial genomics
microbial evolution
gut microbiota
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19490976.2025.2519700
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Summary:Staphylococcus haemolyticus is an important cause of sepsis in preterm infants, with gut colonization being recognized as a risk factor for infection. To better understand the diversity of S. haemolyticus among preterm infants, we generated genome sequences of S. haemolyticus strains (n = 140) from 44 stool samples of 22 preterm infants from four hospitals in England. Core genome phylogenetic analyses, incorporating 126 publicly available S. haemolyticus genome sequences, showed that 85/140 (60.1%) of the isolates, from three different hospitals, formed a clonal group with 78/85 (91.7%) strains having Multi-Locus Sequence Type (ST) 49. Antibiotic resistance genes were prevalent in the genomes. There was a strong association between the presence of mecA and phenotypic resistance to oxacillin, and the aacA-aphD gene and phenotypic resistance to gentamicin. While mecA was near-ubiquitous, none of the strains from the preterm infant cohort had a complete Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) element. The aacA-aphD gene was associated with the transposon Tn4001 in multiple chromosomal and plasmid contexts. Our data suggest the existence of a distinct sub-population of S. haemolyticus that has adapted to colonize the gut of preterm infants, and widespread horizontal gene transfer and recombination among this frequent colonizer of the preterm infant gut.
ISSN:1949-0976
1949-0984

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