Isolation and genome sequencing of Staphylococcus schleiferi subspecies coagulans from Antarctic and North Sea seals

Reports on the commensal organism and opportunistic pathogenStaphylococcus schleiferihave largely considered isolates from humans and companion dogs. Two subspecies are recognized: the coagulase-negativeS. schleiferissp. schleiferi , typically seen in humans, and the coagulase-positiveS. schleiferissp. coagulans , typically seen in dogs. In this study, we report the isolation, genome sequencing and comparative genomics of threeS. schleiferissp. coagulans isolates from mouth samples from two species of healthy, free-living Antarctic seals, southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) and Antarctic fur seals ( Arctocephalus gazella ), in the South Orkney Islands, Antarctica, and three isolates from post-mortem samples from grey seals ( Halichoerus grypus ) in Scotland, UK. This is the first report ofS. schleiferissp. coagulans isolation from Antarctic fur seal and grey seal. The Antarctic fur seal represents the first isolation ofS. schleiferissp. coagulans from the family Otariidae , while the grey seal represents the first isolation from a pinniped in the Northern Hemisphere. We compare seal, dog and human isolates from bothS. schleiferisubspecies in the first genome-based phylogenetic analysis of the species.