{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T06:47:26Z","timestamp":1776062846825,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776038400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Methicillin-resistant\n                    <jats:italic>Staphylococcus aureus<\/jats:italic>\n                    (MRSA) is an important public health hazard at the human\u2013food\u2013environment interface. Poultry meat has been increasingly implicated as a potential source of MRSA exposure, yet molecular data from the Middle East remain scarce. This study aimed to characterize MRSA isolated from retail chicken meat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a DNA microarray platform and to compare these profiles with recent UAE clinical MRSA data. A total of 34 non-duplicate MRSA isolates recovered from retail chicken meat were analyzed using a high-resolution DNA microarray targeting clonal complexes, SCC\n                    <jats:italic>mec<\/jats:italic>\n                    elements, antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence determinants. Isolates were assigned to six clonal complexes, with CC5 (18\/34, 52.9%) and CC6 (12\/34, 35.3%) predominating, while CC1, CC22, CC88 and CC97 each occurred at low frequency. Most isolates carried community-associated SCC\n                    <jats:italic>mec<\/jats:italic>\n                    types IV or V\/VT. All (100%) harbored the\n                    <jats:italic>mecA<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene, whereas resistance genes associated with fusidic acid (\n                    <jats:italic>fusC<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), macrolide\u2013lincosamide resistance (\n                    <jats:italic>ermC<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), tetracycline resistance (\n                    <jats:italic>tetM<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\/or\n                    <jats:italic>tetK<\/jats:italic>\n                    ), phenicol resistance (\n                    <jats:italic>fexA<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) and fosfomycin resistance (\n                    <jats:italic>fosB<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) were detected in 14\/34 (41.2%), 15\/34 (44.1%), 20\/34 (58.8%), 18\/34 (52.9%) and 30\/34 (88.2%) isolates, respectively, while no\n                    <jats:italic>vanA<\/jats:italic>\n                    or\n                    <jats:italic>vanB<\/jats:italic>\n                    genes were identified. Virulence profiling revealed widespread carriage of immune evasion cluster genes, including\n                    <jats:italic>sak<\/jats:italic>\n                    (32\/34, 94.1%) and\n                    <jats:italic>scn<\/jats:italic>\n                    (30\/34, 88.2%), together with universal detection of major adhesion and biofilm-associated genes. Panton\u2013Valentine leukocidin genes (\n                    <jats:italic>lukF-PV\/lukS-PV<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) were present in 2\/34 (5.9%) isolates and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene (\n                    <jats:italic>tst1<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) in 1\/34 (2.9%). A diverse repertoire of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes was observed, with enterotoxin gene cluster components (e.g.,\n                    <jats:italic>seg<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>selm<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>selu<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) detected in up to 19\/34 (55.9%) isolates and the classical enterotoxin gene\n                    <jats:italic>sea<\/jats:italic>\n                    in 12\/34 (35.3%) isolates. Overall, these findings indicate that MRSA contaminating retail chicken meat in the UAE is dominated by human-associated, community-type lineages with extensive antimicrobial resistance and virulence gene content, paralleling recent clinical MRSA clonal structures in the country. This study provides the first microarray-based molecular characterization of MRSA from retail chicken meat in the UAE and supports integration of food-chain surveillance into national One Health MRSA monitoring efforts.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1817264","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T05:49:01Z","timestamp":1776059341000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clonal structure, resistome and virulence gene profiles of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from retail chicken meat in the United Arab Emirates"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Ihab","family":"Habib","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Veterinary Public Health Research Laboratory, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"ASPIRE Research Institute for Food Security in the Drylands (ARIFSID), United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Syrine","family":"Boucherabine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences","place":["Dubai, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University","place":["Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Glindya","family":"Bhagya Lakshmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Veterinary Public Health Research Laboratory, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"ASPIRE Research Institute for Food Security in the Drylands (ARIFSID), United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefan","family":"Monecke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Leibniz Center for Photonics in Infection Research (LPI)","place":["Jena, Germany"]},{"name":"InfectoGnostics Research Campus, Centre for Applied Research","place":["Jena, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ralf","family":"Ehricht","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Leibniz Center for Photonics in Infection Research (LPI)","place":["Jena, Germany"]},{"name":"InfectoGnostics Research Campus, Centre for Applied Research","place":["Jena, Germany"]},{"name":"Institute of Physical Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University","place":["Jena, Germany"]},{"name":"Center for Translational Medicine (CETRAMED), Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena","place":["Jena, Germany"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Richard","family":"Goering","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine","place":["Omaha, NE, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fatima","family":"Al Dhaheri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"Zayed Bin Sultan Centre for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mushtaq","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zayed Bin Sultan Centre for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University","place":["Al Ain, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abiola","family":"Senok","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences","place":["Dubai, United Arab Emirates"]},{"name":"School of Dentistry, Cardiff University","place":["Cardiff, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1000","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10081000","article-title":"Ecology and genetic lineages of nasal Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA carriage in healthy persons with or without animal-related occupational risks of colonization: a review of global 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Microbiol."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Microbiology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1817264\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T05:49:02Z","timestamp":1776059342000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1817264\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]]},"references-count":32,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1817264"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1817264","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-302X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-302X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]]},"article-number":"1817264"}}