GEN
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal-complex (CC) 398 is the dominant MRSA in European livestock and a growing cause of human infections. A new study fully characterizes the evolutionary dynamics of the mobile genetic elements—agents of horizontal gene transfer—whose presence or absence distinguishes CC398 from a closely related and less antibiotic-resistant human-associated population. To do this, the researchers used a collection of 1180 CC398 genomes, sampled from livestock and humans, over 27 years.
The findings suggest that CC398 emerged in livestock in the last 50 years, probably due to widespread antibiotic use in pig farming. In addition, the study found that CC398 has maintained its antibiotic resistance over decades in pigs and other livestock. And, it is capable of rapidly adapting to human hosts while maintaining this antibiotic resistance.
The results highlight the potential threat that this strain of MRSA poses to public health. It has been associated with increasing numbers of human infections, in people who have and have not had direct contact with livestock.
This work is published in eLife in the paper, “Stable antibiotic resistance and rapid human adaptation in livestock-associated MRSA.”
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