Application of molecular techniques in the study of Staphylococcus aureus clonal evolution - A Review

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is an important agent of healthcare-associated and community-acquired infections. A major characteristic of this microorganism is the ability to develop resistance to antimicrobial agents. Several molecular techniques have been applied for the characterization of S. aureus in epidemiological studies. In the present review, we discuss the application of molecular techniques for typing S. aureus strains and describe the nomenclature and evolution of epidemic clones of this important pathogen.

Keywords

• Staphylococcus aureus
• pulsed field gel electrophoresis
• multilocus sequence typing
• staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing
• epidemiology