Analysis of the polymorphism of Staphylococcus strains isolated from a hospital environment

Abstract

Nosocomial infections, despite the introduction of the numerous control systems, still constitute a
considerable problem in hospitals. They are of great socio-economic importance due to the prolonged
stay of patients in hospitals and high treatment costs. They also contribute to an increase in the death
rate. For many years staphylococci have remained at the top of the list of microorganisms that cause
infections in hospitals. The methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRSA) strains that occur among both
coagulase positive and coagulase negative (MRCNS) species are particularly dangerous. The aim of the
presented paper was to determine the usefulness of the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and the
region between the genes coding 16 S and 23 S rRNA for an examination of the diversity of
Staphylococcus spp. isolated from a hospital environment and to perform a polymorphism analysis
within and among the species. We also analyzed the polymorphism of 84 Staphylococcus strains and
isolated from a hospital environment using PCR-RFLP and ITS PCR methods. A restriction enzyme
analysis of the 16 S rRNA gene using TaqI enzyme did not show any considerable power of
differentiation in relation to the Staphylococci strains examined. However, the variable region between
genes 16 S and 23S rRNA showed a high degree of polymorphisms and allowed for the differentiation of
the hospital strains examined. The results demonstrated the highest differentiation in Staphylococcus
aureus strains. T