{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T06:00:18Z","timestamp":1785218418617,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"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":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n \n Staphylococcus argenteus<\/jats:italic>\n , an emerging member of the\n Staphylococcus aureus<\/jats:italic>\n complex (SAC) linked to severe infections globally, remains understudied in temperate regions such as northern China.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n In this single-center retrospective study, we re-identified 2,080 clinical isolates, which were initially classified as\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n using conventional phenotypic methods at a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China. Re-identification was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption\/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), followed by definitive confirmation of\n S. argenteus<\/jats:italic>\n strains via\n rpoB<\/jats:italic>\n and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (\n NRPS<\/jats:italic>\n ) gene sequencing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Phenotypic and genomic analyses were subsequently conducted, including the exploration of candidate MS spectral peaks, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST),\n in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n biofilm formation capacity assessment, as well as resistome and virulome characteristics.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n A total of three\n S. argenteus<\/jats:italic>\n strains (0.14%) were confirmed among the SAC isolates. Four distinct MALDI-TOF MS spectral peaks (3452.7, 5004.2, 5303.8, and 6903.2 Da) were identified that may serve as potential discriminatory markers for\n S. argenteus<\/jats:italic>\n , warranting validation in larger, geographically diverse multicenter cohorts. A conserved core virulome (adhesins, hemolysins, and immune evasion factors) was detected across all strains; one isolate uniquely harbored Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL,\n lukS\/F-PV<\/jats:italic>\n ) and enterotoxin genes (\n seg<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n sei<\/jats:italic>\n ). All three isolates were susceptible to oxacillin, yet they exhibited variable biofilm formation capacities; two isolates demonstrated strong biofilm production, which may warrant further investigation as a potential contributor to localized persistence, though this remains a hypothesis requiring dedicated clinical and functional validation. Notably, despite the presence of genotypic resistance determinants, no fluoroquinolone resistance phenotypes were detected via\n in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n AST.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n \n Our findings provide preliminary insights into the pathogenic potential of\n S. argenteus<\/jats:italic>\n in this specific clinical environment. Although our large-scale screening revealed a remarkably low prevalence of\n S. argenteus<\/jats:italic>\n in this local cohort, the small number of positive isolates highlights the need for multicenter surveillance to better understand its clinical impact and generalizability.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1876812","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T05:37:17Z","timestamp":1785217037000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinical and genomic characterization of Staphylococcus argenteus isolates from a tertiary hospital in Beijing"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Dequan","family":"Tian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yunyi","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diandian","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leyang","family":"Ju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"He","family":"Lan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenshuo","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoyi","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xiongan Xuanwu Hospital, Xiong\u2019an New Area","place":["Hebei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peichang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingrong","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, National Gerontic Disease Clinical Research Center","place":["Beijing, China"]},{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xiongan Xuanwu Hospital, Xiong\u2019an New Area","place":["Hebei, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1017","DOI":"10.1007\/s10096-016-2632-x","article-title":"Low occurrence of the new species Staphylococcus argenteus in a Staphylococcus aureus collection of human isolates from Belgium.","volume":"35","author":"Argud\u00edn","year":"2016","journal-title":"Eur. 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