Methicillin-Resistant <i>Macrococcus bohemicus</i> Encoding a Divergent SCC<i>mecB</i> Element

A methicillin-resistant <i>Macrococcus</i> isolate from canine otitis, H889678/16/1, was whole-genome sequenced using HiSeq technology to identify the species, antimicrobial resistance determinates and their genomic context. H889678/16/1 belonged to the newly described species <i>M...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Geoffrey Foster, Gavin K. Paterson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
Series:Antibiotics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/9/590
Description
Summary:A methicillin-resistant <i>Macrococcus</i> isolate from canine otitis, H889678/16/1, was whole-genome sequenced using HiSeq technology to identify the species, antimicrobial resistance determinates and their genomic context. H889678/16/1 belonged to the newly described species <i>Macrococcus bohemicus</i>. It encoded <i>mecB</i> within a novel SCC<i>mec</i> element most similar to that of <i>Macrococcus canis</i> KM45013<sup>T</sup>. This SCC<i>mec</i><sub>H889678/16/1</sub> element also encoded <i>blaZ<sub>m</sub></i> and <i>fusC</i>, but no other resistance determinates were found in the H889678/16/1 genome. The <i>ccrA</i> and <i>ccrB</i> recombinase genes within SCC<i>mec</i><sub>H889678/16/1</sub> were distinct from those previously described in staphylococci and macrococci and therefore designated here as <i>ccrAm3</i> and <i>ccrBm3</i>. Our study represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first description of <i>mecB</i> being encoded by <i>M</i>. <i>bohemicus</i> and of methicillin resistance in this species. Furthermore, the SCC<i>mec</i> described here is highly dissimilar to other such elements and encodes novel <i>ccr</i> genes. Our report demonstrates a wider distribution of <i>mecB</i> among <i>Macrococcus</i> species and expands the genomic context in which <i>mecB</i> may be found. The potential for dissemination of <i>mec</i> genes from <i>Macrococcus</i> to related but more pathogenic <i>Staphylococcus</i> species highlights the need to understand the epidemiology of these genes in macrococci.
ISSN:2079-6382