{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T23:17:25Z","timestamp":1791328645318,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1996,12,1]],"date-time":"1996-12-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":849398400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microbial Drug Resistance"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1996,12]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n The gene\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n , a central genetic determinant of methicillin resistance in\n Staphylococcus aureus<\/jats:italic>\n and coagulase-negative staphylococci of human origin, has an unknown extra species origin in these human pathogens. After screening isolates representing over 15 different species within the genus\n Staphylococcus<\/jats:italic>\n we could identify only one\u2014\n S. sciuri<\/jats:italic>\n \u2014in which each of over 150 independent isolates showed positive hybridization with a\n mec A<\/jats:italic>\n -specific DNA probe isolated from a methicillin-resistant strain of\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n , (MRSA). Yet, the majority of these isolates showed no resistance to penicillin or methicillin. The\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n gene homologue was cloned and sequenced from a\n S. sciuri<\/jats:italic>\n strain and the sequence of\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n was compared to that of the\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n of prototype strains of methicillin resistant\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n and\n S. epidermidis<\/jats:italic>\n . Similarly to\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n of MRSA, the\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n homologue of\n S. sciuri<\/jats:italic>\n was composed of a putative transglycosylase and a transpeptidase domain the latter showing all the conserved motifs typical of the active sites of the penicillin binding domain of transpeptidases. Overall similarity between the deduced amino acid sequences of\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n of MRSA and the\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n homologue of\n S. sciuri<\/jats:italic>\n was 88%. On the other hand, comparison of the transpeptidase domain of the\n S. sciuri mecA<\/jats:italic>\n to the corresponding domain alone of the MRSA\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n showed a similarity of 96% and an identity of 91%, while comparison of the putative transglycosylase domains of the two bacteria showed only a 80% similarity and 68% identity of amino acid sequences. Our data suggests that\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n of methicillin-resistant strains of staphylococci pathogenic to Man originated within the genus of\n Staphylococcus<\/jats:italic>\n from an evolutionary relative of the\n mecA<\/jats:italic>\n homologue that we have identified in\n S. sciuri<\/jats:italic>\n and which may perform a normal physiological function in this bacterium unrelated to \u03b2-lactam resistance.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1089\/mdr.1996.2.435","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,1,29]],"date-time":"2009-01-29T19:19:18Z","timestamp":1233256758000},"page":"435-441","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":144,"title":["Tracking the Evolutionary Origin of the Methicillin Resistance Gene: Cloning and Sequencing of a Homologue of\n mecA<\/i>\n from a Methicillin Susceptible Strain of\n Staphylococcus sciuri<\/i>"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"2","author":[{"given":"Shangwei","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claudia","family":"Piscitelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Herminia","family":"de LENCASTRE","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Tomasz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1996,12]]},"container-title":["Microbial Drug Resistance"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1089\/mdr.1996.2.435","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1089\/mdr.1996.2.435","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T18:11:49Z","timestamp":1770747109000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1089\/mdr.1996.2.435"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1996,12]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[1996,12]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1089\/mdr.1996.2.435"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1089\/mdr.1996.2.435","relation":{},"ISSN":["1076-6294","1931-8448"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1076-6294","type":"print"},{"value":"1931-8448","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1996,12]]}}}