Study on the percent of frequency of ACME-Arca in clinical isolates resistant to methicillin- staphylococcus epidermidis in Isfahan, Iran

ACME is a mobile element of Arginine catabolic in Staphylococcus epidermidis that codes specific virulence factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the specific features and prevalence of ACME-arcA in the isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis resistant to Methicillin isolated by clinical samples in Isfahan. In a time interval of 9 months, 120 clinical samples were gathered through Asgariyeh Hospital. After identification of the isolates, their antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion method. Resistance to cefoxitin was measured using agar screening method and MIC values was measured using Espilometer Test (E Test). MecA and ACME-arcA genes were detected by PCR technique. Out of120 clinical samples, 68 Staphylococcus epidermidis strains were isolated. Most isolates were obtained from urine samples. In this study, 51 isolates (75%) were resistant to cefoxitin and multiple drug resistance was observed in 50 isolates (73.53%).Studies show that this is the first study on gene detection of ACME-arcA in isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis in Iran. It was found that Staphylococcus epidermidis with ACMEarcA reservoirs is highly correlated to virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes.Keywords: PCR, Etest, mecA, ACME-arc