This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lina, G.
Right arrow Articles by Vandenesch, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lina, G.
Right arrow Articles by Vandenesch, F.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lina, G.
Right arrow Articles by Vandenesch, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2003, p. 18-23, Vol. 69, No. 1
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.1.18-23.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Bacterial Competition for Human Nasal Cavity Colonization: Role of Staphylococcal agr Alleles

Gerard Lina,1* Florent Boutite,2 Anne Tristan,1 Michèle Bes,1 Jerome Etienne,1 and Francois Vandenesch1

Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, INSERM E-0230,1 Clinical Pharmacology Unit, EA 643 & EZUS-APRET, IFR 62, Faculté de Médecine Laennec, Lyon, France2

Received 12 April 2002/ Accepted 30 September 2002

We examined the bacterial aerobic nasal flora of 216 healthy volunteers to identify potential competitive interactions among different species, with special emphasis on the influence of staphylococcal agr alleles. The Staphylococcus aureus colonization rate correlated negatively with the rate of colonization by Corynebacterium spp. and non-aureus staphylococci, especially S. epidermidis, suggesting that both Corynebacterium spp. and S. epidermidis antagonize S. aureus colonization. Most of the S. aureus and S. epidermidis isolates were agr typed by a PCR method. Only one S. aureus agr (agrSa) allele was detected in each carrier. Multiple logistic regression of the two most prevalent agrSa alleles (agr-1Sa and agr-2Sa) and the three S. epidermidis agr (agrSe) alleles showed a specific influence of the agr system. The results of this model did not support conclusions drawn from previous in vitro agr-specific cross-inhibition experiments. Our findings suggest that the agr alleles, which are strongly linked to the bacterial genetic background, may simply be associated with common biological properties—including mediators of bacterial interference—in the strains that bear them.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Centre National de Référence des Staphylocoques, INSERM E-0230, IRF62, Faculté de Médecine Laennec, 7 rue Guillaume Paradin, 69372 Lyon cedex 08, France. Phone: 33 (0) 478 77 86 57. Fax: 33 (0) 478 77 86 58. E-mail: geralina{at}univ-lyon1.fr.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2003, p. 18-23, Vol. 69, No. 1
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.1.18-23.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Smyth, D. S., Feil, E. J., Meaney, W. J., Hartigan, P. J., Tollersrud, T., Fitzgerald, J. R., Enright, M. C., Smyth, C. J. (2009). Molecular genetic typing reveals further insights into the diversity of animal-associated Staphylococcus aureus. J Med Microbiol 58: 1343-1353 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghebremedhin, B., Olugbosi, M. O., Raji, A. M., Layer, F., Bakare, R. A., Konig, B., Konig, W. (2009). Emergence of a Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strain with a Unique Resistance Profile in Southwest Nigeria. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 2975-2980 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sotto, A., Lina, G., Richard, J.-L., Combescure, C., Bourg, G., Vidal, L., Jourdan, N., Etienne, J., Lavigne, J.-P. (2008). Virulence Potential of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated From Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A new paradigm. Diabetes Care 31: 2318-2324 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Udo, E. E., O'Brien, F. G., Al-Sweih, N., Noronha, B., Matthew, B., Grubb, W. B. (2008). Genetic Lineages of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Kuwait Hospitals. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 3514-3516 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Luczak-Kadlubowska, A., Sulikowska, A., Empel, J., Piasecka, A., Orczykowska, M., Kozinska, A., Hryniewicz, W. (2008). Countrywide Molecular Survey of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains in Poland. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 2930-2937 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hu, D.-L., Omoe, K., Inoue, F., Kasai, T., Yasujima, M., Shinagawa, K., Nakane, A. (2008). Comparative prevalence of superantigenic toxin genes in meticillin-resistant and meticillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus isolates. J Med Microbiol 57: 1106-1112 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Collery, M. M., Smyth, D. S., Twohig, J. M., Shore, A. C., Coleman, D. C., Smyth, C. J. (2008). Molecular typing of nasal carriage isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from an Irish university student population based on toxin gene PCR, agr locus types and multiple locus, variable number tandem repeat analysis. J Med Microbiol 57: 348-358 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Holtfreter, S., Grumann, D., Schmudde, M., Nguyen, H. T. T., Eichler, P., Strommenger, B., Kopron, K., Kolata, J., Giedrys-Kalemba, S., Steinmetz, I., Witte, W., Broker, B. M. (2007). Clonal Distribution of Superantigen Genes in Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Isolates. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 2669-2680 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mayor, L., Ortellado, J., Menacho, C., Lird, G., Courtier, C., Gardon, C., Meugnier, H., Bes, M., Vandenesch, F., Etienne, J. (2007). Molecular Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Collected in Asuncion, Paraguay. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 2298-2300 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ikeda, R., Saito, F., Matsuo, M., Kurokawa, K., Sekimizu, K., Yamaguchi, M., Kawamoto, S. (2007). Contribution of the Mannan Backbone of Cryptococcal Glucuronoxylomannan and a Glycolytic Enzyme of Staphylococcus aureus to Contact-Mediated Killing of Cryptococcus neoformans. J. Bacteriol. 189: 4815-4826 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ghebremedhin, B., Konig, W., Witte, W., Hardy, K. J., Hawkey, P. M., Konig, B. (2007). Subtyping of ST22-MRSA-IV (Barnim epidemic MRSA strain) at a university clinic in Germany from 2002 to 2005. J Med Microbiol 56: 365-375 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hsu, L.-Y., Loomba-Chlebicka, N., Koh, Y.-L., Tan, T.-Y., Krishnan, P., Lin, R. T.-P., Tee, N. W.-S., Fisher, D. A., Koh, T.-H. (2007). Evolving EMRSA-15 epidemic in Singapore hospitals. J Med Microbiol 56: 376-379 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fleming, V., Feil, E., Sewell, A. K., Day, N., Buckling, A., Massey, R. C. (2006). Agr Interference between Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Strains in an Insect Model of Virulence. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7686-7688 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Luczak-Kadlubowska, A., Krzyszton-Russjan, J., Hryniewicz, W. (2006). Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated in Poland in 1996 to 2004 That Were Deficient in Species-Specific Proteins. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 4018-4024 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Huijsdens, X. W., van Santen-Verheuvel, M. G., Spalburg, E., Heck, M. E. O. C., Pluister, G. N., Eijkelkamp, B. A., de Neeling, A. J., Wannet, W. J. B. (2006). Multiple Cases of Familial Transmission of Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 2994-2996 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Layer, F., Ghebremedhin, B., Konig, W., Konig, B. (2006). Heterogeneity of Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Strains at a German University Hospital Implicates the Circulating-Strain Pool as a Potential Source of Emerging Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Clones.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 2179-2185 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chini, V., Dimitracopoulos, G., Spiliopoulou, I. (2006). Occurrence of the Enterotoxin Gene Cluster and the Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin 1 Gene among Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Is Related to Clonal Type and agr Group.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 1881-1883 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Francois, P., Koessler, T., Huyghe, A., Harbarth, S., Bento, M., Lew, D., Etienne, J., Pittet, D., Schrenzel, J. (2006). Rapid Staphylococcus aureus agr Type Determination by a Novel Multiplex Real-Time Quantitative PCR Assay.. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 1892-1895 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Moisan, H., Brouillette, E., Jacob, C. L., Langlois-Begin, P., Michaud, S., Malouin, F. (2006). Transcription of Virulence Factors in Staphylococcus aureus Small-Colony Variants Isolated from Cystic Fibrosis Patients Is Influenced by SigB. J. Bacteriol. 188: 64-76 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stephens, A. J., Huygens, F., Inman-Bamber, J., Price, E. P., Nimmo, G. R., Schooneveldt, J., Munckhof, W., Giffard, P. M. (2006). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus genotyping using a small set of polymorphisms. J Med Microbiol 55: 43-51 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Robinson, D. A., Monk, A. B., Cooper, J. E., Feil, E. J., Enright, M. C. (2005). Evolutionary Genetics of the Accessory Gene Regulator (agr) Locus in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 187: 8312-8321 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gomes, A. R., Vinga, S., Zavolan, M., de Lencastre, H. (2005). Analysis of the Genetic Variability of Virulence-Related Loci in Epidemic Clones of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49: 366-379 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dunman, P. M., Mounts, W., McAleese, F., Immermann, F., Macapagal, D., Marsilio, E., McDougal, L., Tenover, F. C., Bradford, P. A., Petersen, P. J., Projan, S. J., Murphy, E. (2004). Uses of Staphylococcus aureus GeneChips in Genotyping and Genetic Composition Analysis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 4275-4283 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Li, M., Guan, M., Jiang, X. F., Yuan, F. Y., Xu, M., Zhang, W. Z., Lu, Y. (2004). Genetic polymorphism of the accessory gene regulator (agr) locus in Staphylococcus epidermidis and its association with pathogenicity. J Med Microbiol 53: 545-549 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Verdier, I., Reverdy, M.-E., Etienne, J., Lina, G., Bes, M., Vandenesch, F. (2004). Staphylococcus aureus Isolates with Reduced Susceptibility to Glycopeptides Belong to Accessory Gene Regulator Group I or II. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 48: 1024-1027 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gilot, P., van Leeuwen, W. (2004). Comparative Analysis of agr Locus Diversification and Overall Genetic Variability among Bovine and Human Staphylococcus aureus Isolates. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1265-1269 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Peacock, S. J., Justice, A., Griffiths, D., de Silva, G. D. I., Kantzanou, M. N., Crook, D., Sleeman, K., Day, N. P. J. (2003). Determinants of Acquisition and Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in Infancy. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 5718-5725 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kahl, B. C., Becker, K., Friedrich, A. W., Clasen, J., Sinha, B., von Eiff, C., Peters, G. (2003). agr-Dependent Bacterial Interference Has No Impact on Long-Term Colonization of Staphylococcus aureus during Persistent Airway Infection of Cystic Fibrosis Patients. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41: 5199-5201 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Roche, F. M., Meehan, M., Foster, T. J. (2003). The Staphylococcus aureus surface protein SasG and its homologues promote bacterial adherence to human desquamated nasal epithelial cells. Microbiology 149: 2759-2767 [Abstract] [Full Text]