Sains Malaysiana 44(9)(2015): 1315–1323

Clonal Diversity of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in UKM Medical Centre: Characterisation by Multilocus Sequence Typing of  Different SCCmec Type Representatives

(Kepelbagaian Klon Staphylococcus aureus Rintang Methicillin di Pusat Perubatan UKM: Pencirian Molekul Menggunakan Penjenisan Jujukan Multilokus terhadap Wakil Jenis SCCmec yang Berlainan)

NAJIHAN ABDUL SAMAT MUTTAQILLAH ^1*, SALASAWATI HUSSIN¹, HUI-MIN, NEOH², AINIHAYATI NOORDIN¹, CHUAN HUN DING¹, ASRUL ABDUL WAHAB¹ & MD MOSTAFIZUR RAHMAN¹

¹Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

²UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia

Received: 22 May 2014/Accepted: 15 May 2015

ABSTRACT

Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) has been used to characterise methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates into sequence types (STs) and together with SCCmec typing, form the clonal nomenclature for MRSA. MLST was conducted as per the standard protocol on ten out of 236 isolates collected previously from January to December 2009 representing four different SCCmec types. Relationship analysis was performed with eBURST via the MLST website. Four unlinked ‘singleton’ STs were detected: ST30, ST239, ST772 and ST1178. Together with SCCmec typing, five MRSA clones were identified: ST30-IV, ST239-II, ST239-III, ST772-V and ST1178-IV. Clones ST239-III and ST30-IV are already established in Malaysian hospitals and in the local community, respectively. ST772-V is an emerging clone reported previously to have a propensity to displace pre-existing predominant clones. A clone involving the predominant ST in Malaysia (ST239) with SCCmec type II is the first of its kind to be identified. MRSA clones in our centre are very diverse and clone surveillance with large sample sizes should be undertaken as collaborative efforts between local institutions to maximise detection coverage.

Keywords: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); molecular characterisation; multilocus sequence typing (MLST); Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec)

ABSTRAK

Penjenisan jujukan multilokus (MLST) membolehkan isolat Staphylococcus aureus rintang methicilin (MRSA) dicirikan kepada jenis-jenis jujukan (ST) tertentu. Apabila digabungkan dengan jenis jujukan SCCmec masing-masing, tatanama antarabangsa bagi klon-klon MRSA ini dapat dibentuk. Kajian MLST dijalankan mengikut protokol piawai ke atas sepuluh daripada 236 isolat MRSA terpilih yang dikumpul dari bulan Januari hingga Disember 2009 dengan setiap isolat mewakili empat jenis SCCmec yang berbeza. Hubungan antara isolat tersebut dikaji menggunakan eBURST melalui laman sesawang MLST. Empat jujukan tunggal ST yang tidak berkait telah dikenal pasti iaitu ST30, ST239, ST772 dan ST1178. Bersama-sama pencirian jujukan SCCmec masing-masing, lima klon telah dikenal pasti, iaitu ST30-IV, ST239-II, ST239-III, ST772-V dan ST1178-IV. Klon-klon ST239-III dan ST30-IV telahpun diketahui bertapak di hospital-hospital di Malaysia (ST239-III) dan juga di dalam komuniti (ST30-IV). Klon ST772-V adalah klon yang dikenal pasti sebagai klon yang baru muncul dan berkebolehan untuk menggantikan klon paling dominan sedia ada. Klon baru yang melibatkan ST paling dominan di Malaysia (ST239) dengan jujukan SCCmec jenis II telah ditemui buat kali pertama. Kami mendapati pelbagai klon MRSA dipencilkan di hospital kami. Oleh itu, kami menyarankan supaya pengawasan yang berterusan melibatkan saiz sampel yang lebih besar perlu dijalankan dengan kerjasama dari institusi tempatan yang lain bagi memaksimumkan liputan pengesanan.

Kata kunci: Kromosom kaset mec stafilokokal (SCCmec); penjenisan jujukan multilokus (MLST); pencirian molekul; Staphylococcus aureus rintang meticillin (MRSA)

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*Corresponding author; email: muttaqillah@ppukm.ukm.edu.my