In Silico Exploration of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome <i>mec</i> (SCC<i>mec</i>) Evolution Based on Phylogenetic Relationship of <i>ccrAB/C</i>
As the mobile cassette carrier of the methicillin resistance gene <i>mecA</i> that is transported across staphylococci species, the evolution and origin of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome <i>mec</i> (SCC<i>mec</i>)—and in particular, the composition of <i>...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/153 |
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| Summary: | As the mobile cassette carrier of the methicillin resistance gene <i>mecA</i> that is transported across staphylococci species, the evolution and origin of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome <i>mec</i> (SCC<i>mec</i>)—and in particular, the composition of <i>mecA</i> and SCC<i>mec</i>—have been extensively discussed in the scientific literature; however, information regarding its dissemination across geographical limits and evolution over decades remains limited. In addition, whole-genome sequencing-based macro-analysis was unable to provide sufficiently detailed evolutionary information on SCC<i>mec</i>. Herein, the cassette chromosome recombinase genes <i>ccrAB/C</i>, as essential components of SCC<i>mec</i>, were employed to explore the evolution of SCC<i>mec</i>. This work established the basic taxonomy of 33 staphylococci species. The CUB of <i>mecA</i>, <i>ccrAB/C</i> of 12 SCC<i>mec</i> types and core genome of 33 staphylococci species were subsequently compared; the phylogenetic relationship of <i>ccrAB/C</i> was observed via SCC<i>mec</i> typing on a temporal and geographical scale; and the duplicate appearance of <i>ccrAB/C</i> was illustrated by comparing SCC<i>mec</i> compositions. The results highlighted a deviation in the CUB of <i>mecA</i> and <i>ccrAB/C</i>, which evidenced their exogenous characteristics to staphylococci, and provided theological support for the phylogenetic analysis of <i>ccrAB/C</i> as representative of SCC<i>mec</i>. Importantly, the phylogenetic relationship of <i>ccrAB/C</i> did not exhibit centralization over time; instead, similarly to <i>mecA</i>, <i>ccrAB/C</i> with similar identities had close clades across decades and geographical limits and different SCC<i>mec</i> types, which enabled us to discriminate SCC<i>mec</i> based on the sequence identity of <i>ccrAB/C</i>. In addition, the duplicate appearance of <i>ccrAB/C</i> and fixed composition of the <i>ccrAB/C</i> complex among different strains were indicative of more complicated transmission mechanisms than targeting direct repeats of SCC<i>mec</i>. |
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| ISSN: | 2076-2607 |