Analysis of Diversity of Mutations in the mecI Gene and mecA Promoter/Operator Region of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis

Genomic diversity of mutation in themecI gene ormecA promoter/operator region was analyzed for clinical isolates of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) andStaphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE). In most MRSA strains, a single base substitution was detected in either themecI (three different positions) or themecA promoter (two different positions), while a 28-base deletion inmecI was found in one strain. In contrast, no mutation was detected in these gene sequences of MRSE strains.