Isolation and Characterization of Staphylococci from Human Skin 11
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INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY, Jan. 1975, p. 62-79 Vol. 25, No. 1 Copyright 0 1975 International Association of Microbiological Societies Printed in U.S.A. Isolation and Characterization of Staphylococci from Human Skin 11. Descriptions of Four New Species: Staphylococcus warneri, Staphylococcus capitis, Staphylococcus horninis, and Staphylococcus simul ans WESLEY E. KLOOS AND KARL H. SCHLEIFER Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607, and Lehrstuhl fur Mikrobiologie, Universittit Mlinchen, 8 Munich 19, Germany Staphylococci were isolated from the skins of people living in North Carolina and New Jersey and were studied in an attempt to resolve their natural relationships. As a result of this study, four new species are proposed in this paper: Staphylococcus warneri, S. capitis, S. hominis, and S. simulans. The type strains of these species are ATCC 27836, ATCC 27840, ATCC 27844, and ATCC 27848, respectively. The new species were established on the basis of a variety of morphological, physiological, biochemical, and antibiotic characters. Cell wall composition was particularly useful in resolving species and correlated well with other characters. Characteristic pigment production was useful in distinguishing several of the different species. A summary of the character variation found in the species and a scheme for the classification of human cutaneous staphylococci are included in this paper. The predominant staphylococci found on human skin were S. epidermidis and S. horninis. A brief account of the classification of staphy- paper is concerned with the classification of four lococci and their occurrence on human skin is additional new species of human cutaneous presented in the accompanying paper (15).Most staphylococci; it also contains summary data on of the recent attempts at classifying cutaneous species character variation, occurrence of spe- staphylococci have utilized the Baird-Parker cies on human skin, and a classification scheme. scheme (2-4, 10, 11). This scheme involves the use of a small number of readily definable key MATERIALS AND METHODS characters to identify isolates at the species and Bacterial strains. Staphylococci were isolated subgroup levels. However, because of the small from the healthy skins of two groups of people. One number of characters used and the general lack group was composed of 20 people living in Raleigh, of information available on species character N.C., who were sampled once each month for 6 to 13 variation, the scheme is limited in accuracy and months. The second group was composed of 20 people living in New Jersey, who were sampled once during to the number of species and/or subspecies that the winter. Samples were taken from two separate it can resolve. sites on the forehead and one site from one cheek, one The specific purpose of our investigation was anterior and external nare, chin, each axilla, each to identify the species of cutaneous staphylo- upper and lower arm, and each upper and lower leg. cocci of humans. To attempt this, we reevalu- Randomly selected representative strains of the ated existing taxonomic criteria, explored the new species proposed in this paper are listed in Tables use of additional characters, and estimated 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. (Additional strains that species character variation in cutaneous popu- were analyzed for only certain of the characters listed lations. in the tables are too numerous to be cited here, but The results of studies on cutaneous strains of character information on these strains can be made available upon request to the authors.) Staphylococcus epidermidis (Winslow and Procedures for isolating staphylococci. Sampling Winslow) Evans 1916, S. saprophyticus Fair- techniques and the composition of the isolation me- brother 1940, and three new species, s. cohnii, dium have been described previously (6). S. haemolyticus, and S. xylosus, are presented Culture conditions. Culture conditions were simi- in the accompanying paper (15). The present lar to those previously described for the study of cutaneous micrococci (6). ' Paper no. 4401 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Character determinations. Procedures for deter- Agricultural Experiment Station, Raleigh, N.C. 27607. mining deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) base composi- 62 VOL.25, 1975 STAPHYLOCOCCI FROM HUMAN SKIN. 11. 63 tion, colony morphology and pigment, cell morphol- colonies or was a slight yellowish tint in the ogy, motility, aerobic and anaerobic growth in thio- center of colonies. Twenty percent of the strains glycolate, salt tolerance, growth temperature, cata- were unpigmented and had gray-white colonies. lase and benzidine activities, acetylmethylcarbinol Growth occurred in both the aerobic and production, nitrate reduction, carbohydrate reac- tions, and susceptibility to various antibiotics, lyso- anaerobic portions of the thioglycolate medium, zyme, and lysostaphin were similar to those described indicating a facultatively anaerobic capability. previously for micrococci (6).The minimal inhibitory Growth in the anaerobic portion was usually concentrations (MIC) of antibiotics and lysostaphin uniformly dense; however, 5% of the strains are as denoted throughout the text. demonstrated less growth, and 8% had only Coagulase, hemolysis, deoxyribonuclease (DNase), individual colonies in the deeper, more anaero- phosphatase, and bacteriolytic activities were deter- bic portion of this medium. Fifteen selected mined by procedures described in the companion strains demonstrated fermentation of glucose paper (15). by lowering the pH of a yeast extract-glucose Procedures for making cell wall hydrolysates and determining peptidoglycan type, teichoic acid, config- broth from 6.8 to 4.7-5.0 after anaerobic incuba- uration of lactic acid, and the anaerobic fermentation tion. These strains produced nearly equal of glucose have also been described previously (16). amounts of D- and L-lactic acid from glucose. All strains grew well at NaCl concentrations RESULTS AND DISCUSSION up to 10%. Sixty-two percent of the strains grew poorly or failed to grow at a NaCl concentration Characterization of Staphylococcus of 15%. The optimal growth temperature range species. The characteristics of the S. aureus was 25 to 40 C. Eighty-four percent of the and other coagulase-positive strains isolated strains grew poorly or failed to grow at 15 C, but from human skin in this study were similar to 92% grew well at 45 C. those reported previously for various strains of All strains had either weak or moderate these organisms (3, 14, 16).Descriptions of four catalase activity and were positive for the new Staphylococcus species isolated from benzidine test. All failed to produce coagulases. human skin are as follows. Ninety-eight percent of the strains demon- (i) S. warneri sp. nov. (war. ner’i. M.L. gen. n. strated weak or no hemolysin activity, 95% warneri of Warner; named for Arthur Warner, demonstrated weak or no DNase activity, 74% Jr., from whom this organism was originally failed to reduce nitrates, and 78% failed to isolated.) Several strains tentatively identified demonstrate phosphatase activity; there was as members of this species were previously variable bacteriolytic activity. All produced designated S. epidernidis (CCM 2445; refer- acetylmethylcarbinol. ence 13) or s. pyogenes albus (ATCC 155; All strains produced acid aerobically from reference 16). Several strains, including SCH 5, glucose, fructose, sucrose, trehalose, and glyc- SCH 7, and SCH 13, were isolated by one of us erol. Seventy-eight percent of the strains pro- (K.H.S.) from dust and, based on their cell wall duced acid from maltose slowly, and 63% pro- composition and the configuration of the lactic duced acid from mannitol. Fifty percent of the acid they produced, were placed together with strains produced acid from ribose, and 24% the above-mentioned strains in Staphylococcus produced acid from galactose. Only 2% of the group I1 A3 (16). The following description of S. strains produced acid from mannose, and 11% warneri is based on a total of 38 strains, unless produced acid from lactose or turanose. All noted otherwise. failed to produce acid from rhamnose, xylose, Cells were gram-positive cocci, 0.5 to 1.2 pm arabinose, gentiobiose, cellobiose, melezitose, in diameter, nonmotile and nonsporeforming, xylitol, sorbitol, inositol, salicin, adonitol, dul- occurring predominantly in pairs and singly, citol, arabitol, erythritol, erythrose, raffinose, occasionally in tetrads. Only 12% of the strains melibiose, fucose, tagatose, lyxose, or sorbose. studied had approximately equal numbers of All strains were resistant to lysozyme and pairs and tetrads. were slightly resistant to lysostaphin (MIC, 200 Colonies on a P agar medium (6) were raised, pg/ml). All were susceptible to erythromycin usually had a slightly elevated center, and were (MIC, 0.4 to 1.6 pg/ml), tetracycline (MIC, 0.4 circular, entire, smooth, glistening, and opaque. to 0.8 pg/ml), and novobiocin (MIC, 0.025 to 0.1 They were small and had a diameter of 3 to 5 pg/ml). Seventy-eight percent of the strains mm. The consistency of colonies or culture were susceptible to penicillin G (MIC, 0.012 to streaks was usually sticky. Eighty percent of 0.025 pg/ml), and 98% were susceptible or the strains were pigmented to some extent. slightly resistant to streptomycin (MIC, 6.2 to Pigment occurred as a characteristic bright 25 ,ug/ml). yellow-orange or yellow ring around the edge of Fifteen selected strains