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Comparative study of the cellular fatty acids of methicillin‐resistant and ‐susceptible Staphylococcus aureus
Author(s) -
ASAI SHOJIRO,
NODA MITSUHIRO,
YAMAMURA MASATSUGU,
HOZUMI YASUKAZU,
TAKASE ICHIO,
NITTA HIROSHI,
SATO MASARU,
NAMIKAWA ISAMU
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1993.tb00176.x
Subject(s) - staphylococcus aureus , fatty acid , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , strain (injury) , micrococcaceae , chemistry , biology , food science , biochemistry , genetics , anatomy
The cellular fatty acid compositions of 26 strains of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 17 strains of methicillin‐susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) were analyzed by gas‐liquid chromatography. The fatty acid compositions of the two groups were very similar with 16 identified components. The major fatty acids were Ci14 = 0, Ci15 = 0, C18 = 0 and C20 = 0. Among these fatty acids, the percentage of the Ci15 = 0 fatty acid component of MRSA strains (11.4 ± 3.9%) was statistically higher than that of MSSA strains (6.2 ± 2.4%) (p < 0.001). On the other hand, the percentage of the C20 = 0 fatty acid components of MRSA strains (20.2 ± 8.8%) was statistically lower than that of MSSA strains (30.7 ± 10.4%) (p < 0.001). The production of beta‐lactamase and beta‐hemolysin in both groups' strain was also unrelated to the relative amounts of the fatty acid components. These results indicated a statistical tendency for the percentage fatty acid compositions of the MRSA strains to be quantitatively different from those of the MSSA for both the Ci15 = 0 and C20 = 0 fatty acid components. Analysis of the fatty acid compositions may have an application in the differentiation of MRSA and MSSA strains.