AUTHOR=Hansen Thomas A. , Bartels Mette D. , Høgh Silje V. , Dons Lone E. , Pedersen Michael , Jensen Thøger G. , Kemp Michael , Skov Marianne N. , Gumpert Heidi , Worning Peder , Westh Henrik 

TITLE=Whole Genome Sequencing of Danish Staphylococcus argenteus Reveals a Genetically Diverse Collection with Clear Separation from Staphylococcus aureus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01512

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.01512

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Staphylococcus argenteus</italic> (<italic>S. argenteus</italic>) is a newly identified <italic>Staphylococcus</italic> species that has been misidentified as <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> (<italic>S. aureus</italic>) and is clinically relevant. We identified 25 <italic>S. argenteus</italic> genomes in our collection of whole genome sequenced <italic>S. aureus</italic>. These genomes were compared to publicly available genomes and a phylogeny revealed seven clusters corresponding to seven clonal complexes. The genome of <italic>S. argenteus</italic> was found to be different from the genome of <italic>S. aureus</italic> and a core genome analysis showed that ~33% of the total gene pool was shared between the two species, at 90% homology level. An assessment of mobile elements shows flow of SCC<italic>mec</italic> cassettes, plasmids, phages, and pathogenicity islands, between <italic>S. argenteus</italic> and <italic>S. aureus</italic>. This dataset emphasizes that <italic>S. argenteus</italic> and <italic>S. aureus</italic> are two separate species that share genetic material.</p>