Molecular Diversity of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Originated from Patients in Ahvaz Hospitals, Iran

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is among the primary cause of hospitals and community-acquired infections. The emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains has resulted in the treatment failure of the infections caused by these bacteria. Hence, regional data on antibiotic resistance of S. aureus strains is necessary to adopt appropriate treatment regimens. This study aims to identify the diversities and their frequencies among MRSA isolates by molecular analysis of four genes. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 100 S. aureus isolates from patients hospitalized in two hospitals of Ahvaz, Iran were collected and identified. The MRSA isolates were identified by phenotypic method and amplification of the mecA gene. The diversity of MRSA isolates was investigated by amplification of the coa, spa, aroA, and gap genes followed by RFLP analysis using the AluI, HindIII, TaqI and RsaI restriction enzymes. Results: In this study, we identified 50 MRSA isolates. Based on the analysis of coa gene, 8 types, spa gene 5 types and 17 subtypes, coa gene with AluI 13 types, and spa with HindIII 13 types were identified. Also, the RFLP analysis of gap gene with AluI revealed 3 types, and of aroA gene with TaqI and RsaI, 3 types and 2 subtypes, respectively. Conclusion: Our PCR-RFLP analysis revealed that diversities are present among MRSA isolates originated from clinical samples and showed that this method is simple, reproducible, and cost-effective.