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Comparison of the Sma I-Digested Chromosomes of Staphylococcus epidermidis and the Closely Related Species Staphylococcus capitis and Staphylococcus caprae

Department of Genetics, North Carolina University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7614

^* Corresponding author. Phone: (919) 515-5787. Fax: (919) 515-3355.

ABSTRACT

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to examine the chromosomal polymorphisms existing within and between four closely related members of the Staphylococcus epidermidis species group, S. epidermidis, Staphylococcus caprae, Staphylococcus capitis subsp. capitis, and S. capitis subsp. ureolyticus. Sma I was chosen as the restriction endonuclease for this study because it generated only a few well-separated chromosomal fragments. Each of the species and subspecies showed distinct Sma I digest patterns. The strains examined in this study were collected over a 20-year period from various geographical locations. The results indicate that DNA fragment patterns are unique to each species and subspecies and represent a reasonably stable component in the chromosome structure. S. caprae and S. capitis demonstrated considerable conservation in chromosome structure as indicated by the large numbers of conserved Sma I digest fragments. The polymorphisms found within each species appear to be linked to the species' character variability. The genome size of each Staphylococcus strain was extrapolated from the Sma I digest fragment pattern obtained by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The average genome size for S. epidermidis is 2,364 ± 119 kb; for S. caprae strains from humans it is 2,600 ± 157 kb and for S. caprae strains from goats it is 2,493 ± 15 kb; for S. capitis subsp. capitis it is 2,456 ± 71 kb; and for S. capitis subsp. ureolyticus it is 2,276 ± 90 kb.

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