{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T08:47:56Z","timestamp":1790239676057,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"MIUR Italy","award":["PRIN 2017SFBFER"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PRIN 2017SFBFER"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a pathogen commonly found in bone and joint infections, including septic arthritis. S. aureus virulence and the frailty of affected patients can cause several complications; a prompt and specific antibiotic treatment can positively affect the outcome of patients. We carried out an in-depth genomic characterization by Illumina whole genome sequencing and bioinformatics of two biofilm-producing M1 and M2 ST398 MSSA causing septic knee arthritis not-responding to antimicrobial therapy. The strains were characterized for antibiotic resistance, biofilm and adhesive properties as well as genomics, single nucleotide polymorphism phylogeny, resistomics and virulomics. Our results showed that M1 and M2 MSSA were ST398-t1451-agrI-Cap5, susceptible to cefoxitin and resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin, traits consistent with the lack of the SCCmec-locus and the presence of the sole blaZ and ermT. Furthermore, M1 and M2 were biofilm-producing and largely potentially adhesive strains, as indicated by the adhesion gene profile. Our data characterized a new human-adapted ST398 MSSA lineage, representing a \u201cfusion\u201d between the human-animal independent ST398 and the Livestock Associated (LA) ST398 lineages, forming biofilm and genomically predicted high adhesive, characterized by different genomic adaptation conferring a great ability to adhere to the host\u2019s extracellular matrix causing septic knee arthritis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms9020305","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T13:01:12Z","timestamp":1612270872000},"page":"305","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Genomic Characterization of a New Biofilm-Forming and Adhesive ST398 Human-Adapted MSSA Lineage Causing Septic Knee Arthritis Following Surgical Reconstruction"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0785-7934","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viviana","family":"Cafiso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Flavia","family":"Lo Verde","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandra","family":"Zega","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Pigola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roberto","family":"Rostagno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Department of Sant\u2019Andrea Hospital Vercelli, 13100 Vercelli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silvio","family":"Borr\u00e8","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious Diseases Department of Sant\u2019Andrea Hospital Vercelli, 13100 Vercelli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1594-7427","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefania","family":"Stefani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jor.2017.11.007","article-title":"Clinical outcomes involving patients that develop septic arthritis with methicillin sensitive staphylococcus aureus versus methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus","volume":"15","author":"Combs","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. 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