Staphylococcus argenteus

Staphylococcus argenteus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Kingdom:	Bacillati
Phylum:	Bacillota
Class:	Bacilli
Order:	Bacillales
Family:	Staphylococcaceae
Genus:	Staphylococcus
Species:	S. argenteus
Binomial name
Staphylococcus argenteus Tong et al. 20151

Staphylococcus argenteus¹ are gram-positive cocci from the genus Staphylococcus which have been isolated from blood culture of a 55-year-old Indigenous Australian female in 2006 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.²³¹ The species is close related to S. aureus and the differentiation is challenging.⁴ While it is hard to differentiate between S. aureus and S. argenteus, it can be done via multilocus sequence typing (MSLT).⁵ S. argenteus can cause infections in the blood stream, skin/soft tissue, bones and joints.⁶ The species has also been identified in cases of food poisoning.⁶ Staphylococcus argenteus is cytotoxic to human cells due to high expression of alpha-hemolysin.⁷

Whole-genome comparisons prove that S. argenteus shares half of its core genome with Staphylococcus aureus, supporting its independent classification and separate monophyletic groups.⁸ The species has been linked to skin, respiratory, and bloodstream infections. The virulence and antibiotic-resistance genes differ between strains, but all contain genomic islands like those in S. aureus.⁸ Several isolates in Thailand contained unique livestock-associated genes, including tetracycline resistance genes and exotoxins previously observed in S. aureus, indicating the potential for gene transfer between the two Staphylococcus species.⁹ ST2250 sequence type is the most dominant strain, especially in Thailand, but the entire species has been isolated in 14 countries.⁸ There have been reports of methicillin-resistant strains of the species in Dutch hospitals dating back to 2008, displaying its ability to transmit and spread antibiotic resistance genes.¹⁰