OCCURRENCE OF COAGULASE SEROTYPE AMONG STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS STRAINS ISOLATED FROM HEALTHY-INDIVIDUALS - SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CORRELATION WITH SIZE OF PROTEIN-A GENE

One-hundred-and-nineteen strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated fro m healthy individuals for 3 years between 1991 and 1993 were subjected to an investigation on the producibility of proteins including protei n A, coagulase,;enterotoxins and toxic-shock syndrome toxin-l, Especia lly, protein A was the center of our interest. Among these strains, 69 , 43, 3 and 1 strains were found to have the protein-a gene containing 5, 4, 3 and 2 IgG-binding domains, respectively, On the other hand, o nly one strain was devoid of the protein-A gene. There were some diffe rences in the profile of the coagulase serotype between the group with 4 IgG-binding domains and that with 5 IgG-binding domains, Difference s in the profile of toxin production were also observed between the tw o groups.