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I. Organism Information
A. Taxonomy Information
1. Species
a. Staphylococcus aureus
i. Taxonomy ID: 1280
ii. Description:
Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive pathogen that causes a wide range of diseases, and is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics (1). These resistant bacteria are called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. S. aureus is responsible for a variety of ailments, including carbuncles, food poisoning, wound and medical device-related infections, bacteremia, necrotizing pneumonia, and endocarditis (2). S. aureus forms a fairly large yellow colony on rich medium and is hemolytic on blood agar. Staphylococci are facultative anaerobes that ferment glucose to lactate. The bacteria are catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. S. aureus can grow at a temperature range of 15 to 45 degrees and at NaCl concentrations as high as 15 percent. Almost all strains of S. aureus produce the enzyme coagulase. S. aureus should always be considered a potential pathogen (3).
To contribute more information, please contact help@nmpdr.org
iii. Variants
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus
Taxonomy ID: 46170
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus COL
Taxonomy ID: 93062
Parent: Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus MRSA252
Taxonomy ID: 282458
Parent: Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus MSSA476
Taxonomy ID: 282459
Parent: Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus MW2
Taxonomy ID: 196620
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus Mu50
Taxonomy ID: 158878
Parent: Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus
Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus N315
Taxonomy ID: 158879
Parent: Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus
B. Lifecycle and Morphology
1. (To contribute to this description of the infection cycle, please contact help@nmpdr.org)
a. Shape:
Cocci 0.5-1.0 μm in diameter. Cells occur singly or in pairs. Division is in two planes, giving rise to clusters. Colonies are smooth, raised, glistening, circular, entire and translucent. Single colonies may obtain a size of 6-8 mm in diameter (4).
b. Picture:

SEM of numerous clumps of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, commonly referred to by the acronym, MRSA (magnified 9560x), by Janice Carr, CDC
C. Genome Summary
1. Genome of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus COL
a. Chromosome
i. Genbank Accession Number: NC_002951
ii. Size: 2,809,422 bp
iii. S. aureus COL is an early methicillin-resistant isolate (5).
b. Plasmid pT181
i. Genbank Accession Number: NC_006629
ii. Size: 4,440 bp
II. References
1. Sanger Institute
2. Holden MT, Feil EJ, Lindsay JA, Peacock SJ, Day NP, Enright MC, Foster TJ, Moore CE, Hurst L, Atkin R, Barron A, Bason N, Bentley SD, Chillingworth C, Chillingworth T, Churcher C, Clark L, Corton C, Cronin A, Doggett J, Dowd L, Feltwell T, Hance Z, Harris B, Hauser H, Holroyd S, Jagels K, James KD, Lennard N, Line A, Mayes R, Moule S, Mungall K, Ormond D, Quail MA, Rabbinowitsch E, Rutherford K, Sanders M, Sharp S, Simmonds M, Stevens K, Whitehead S, Barrell BG, Spratt BG, Parkhill J. (2004) Complete genomes of two clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains: evidence for the rapid evolution of virulence and drug resistance. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101: 9786-91.
3. http://textbookofbacteriology.net/staph.html
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