STAPHYLOCOCCUS-HOMINIS SUBSP NOVOBIOSEPTICUS SUBSP NOV., A NOVEL TREHALOSE-NEGATIVE AND N-ACETYL-D-GLUCOSAMINE-NEGATIVE, NOVOBIOCIN-RESISTANT AND MULTIPLE-ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT SUBSPECIES ISOLATED FROM HUMAN BLOOD CULTURES

A new subspecies, Staphylococcus hominis subsp. novobiosepticus, isola ted from human blood cultures, a wound, a breast abscess and a cathete r tip, is described on the basis of a study of 26 strains isolated bet ween 1989 and 1996. DNA-DNA reassociation reactions, conducted under s tringent conditions, and macrorestriction pattern analysis demonstrate d that these strains are closely related to previously characterized S . hominis strains belated from human skin and clinical specimens, but are significantly divergent, S. hominis subsp. novobiosepticus can be distinguished from S. hominis (now named S. hominis subsp. hominis) by its combined characteristics of novobiocin resistance and failure to produce acid aerobically from D-trehalose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Furthermore, all 26 strains of the new subspecies are resistant to nal idixic acid, penicillin G, oxacillin, kanamycin and streptomycin, and were either resistant or had intermediate resistance to methicillin an d gentamicin. Most strains were also resistant to erythromycin, clinda mycin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxarole and ciprofloxaci n. Based on a comparison of the sequences of a 1001 bp mecA amplificat ion product from reference methicillin-resistant staphylococci, the me cA gene present in S. hominis subsp. novobiosepticus was identified as homologue A, commonly found in S. aureus and many coagulase-negative staphylococcal species. The type strain of S. hominis subsp. novobiose pticus is ATCC 700236(T). Descriptions of S. hominis subsp. novobiosep ticus subsp. nov, and S. hominis subsp. hominis are given and the desc ription of S. hominis is emended.