Regulated proteolysis by ATP-dependent proteases is universal in all living cells. In Bacillus subtilis, the degradation of the competence transcription factor ComK is mediated by a ternary complex involving the adaptor protein MecA and the ATP-dependent protease ClpCP. Here we demonstrate that a C-terminal, 98-amino acid domain of MecA (residues 121-218) serves as a non-recycling, degradation ...

Methicillin (oxacillin)-resistant staphylococci (MRS) have emerged as major clinical and epidemiological pathogens, and there have been frequent reports of MRS infections in the veterinary field. The MRSA-Screen latex agglutination test (Denka Seiken Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) was compared with an oxacillin agar screen test, MIC determination, and mecA PCR assay, the "gold standard." In an analys...

A Cycling Probe Technology (CPT) assay with a lateral-flow device (strip) was developed for the detection of the mecA gene from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cultures. The assay uses a mecA probe (DNA-RNA-DNA) labeled with fluorescein at the 5' terminus and biotin at the 3' terminus. The CPT reaction occurs at a constant temperature, which allows the probe to anneal to the ...

Absolute dependence on mecA gene as the defining standard in determining the resistance of S. aureus to methicillin became the subject of distrust by many researchers. The present study aimed to determine the frequency of mecA gene in methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates using polymerase chain reaction and to correlate its presence to conventional method. In this regard, two hundred ...

Development of genetic competence in Bacillus subtilis is controlled by the competence-specific transcription factor ComK. ComK activates transcription of itself and several other genes required for competence. The activity of ComK is controlled by other genes including mecA, clpC, and comS. We have used purified ComK, MecA, ClpC, and synthetic ComS to study their interactions and have demonstr...

We determined allelic polymorphisms in the mec complexes of 524 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates by partial or complete sequencing of three mec genes, mecA, mecI, and mecR1. The isolates had been collected over a 10-year period from patients living in rural Wisconsin, where the use of antibiotics was expected to be lower than in the bigger cities. Of the 18 mutation types id...

mecA, the gene that mediates methicillin resistance, and its accompanying mec locus DNA, insert near the gyrA gene in Staphylococcus aureus. To investigate whether there is a similar relationship between mecA and gyrA in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), mecA- and gyrA-specific DNA fragments were used to probe methicillin-resistant isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) (n = 11) an...

The susceptibility to methicillin of 44 Staphylococcus aureus and 120 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) was determined by Etest, agar dilution and presence of the mecA gene. There was agreement between the results of all methods when testing S. aureus. However, discrepancies occurred with CNS when cultural methods were compared with presence of the mecA gene. mecA-positive isolates tested ...

Extensive characterization of adenosine receptors expressed by human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) was performed with quantitative polymerase chain reaction, radioligand binding, and calcium signaling. Transcript for the A3 adenosine receptor was elevated more than 100-fold in immature MDDCs compared with monocyte precursors. A3 receptor transcript was substantially diminished, and A...

A rapid slide latex agglutination (LA) test, MRSA-Screen (Denka Seiken Co., Niigata, Japan), which detects PBP 2a, was tested for its ability to differentiate between mecA-positive and -negative coagulase-negative staphylococci. A total of 463 isolates from 13 species were included in the study. The mecA gene was detected by PCR, and the oxacillin MIC was determined by the agar dilution method ...