Premium
Identification of a new putative enterotoxin SEU encoded by the egc cluster of Staphylococcus aureus
Author(s) -
Letertre C.,
Perelle S.,
Dilasser F.,
Fach P.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.2003.01957.x
Subject(s) - pseudogene , enterotoxin , staphylococcus aureus , biology , gene , gene cluster , polymerase chain reaction , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , bacteria , genome , escherichia coli
Aims: This paper reports on a new putative enterotoxin SEU encoded by the enterotoxin gene cluster egc from Staphylococcus aureus and on a real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for detecting the seu gene. Methods and Results: PCR and sequencing revealed a new putative enterotoxin SEU encoded by some egc clusters. The seu gene resulted from sequence divergence in the ψ ent1 and ψ ent2 pseudogenes previously described in the egc cluster (Jarraud et al. [2001] Journal of Immunology 166 , 669). The presence of the seu gene was investigated in a collection of S. aureus strains by conventional PCR and by a specific 5′‐nuclease PCR assay. Among the 24 strains harbouring the egc cluster, four tested positive for the seu gene. Conclusions: The existence of the seu gene adds to the number of newly described se genes and underlines the need for a better understanding of their role in the pathogenesis of S. aureus . Significance and Impact of the Study: A thorough study of the seu gene should provide further insight into the phylogenetics of the staphylococcal enterotoxins.